


Lizzie McGuire: The Revival

by cyanisthenewblack



Category: Disney - All Media Types, Lizzie McGuire (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Future, Multi, Reboot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:54:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 23,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24256972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyanisthenewblack/pseuds/cyanisthenewblack
Summary: Here is my rendition of the Lizzie McGuire Re-Boot! (that has sadly been put on hold )It will be multi-chapters and have various ships, canon and non-canon, that I don't want to spoil yet, all I will say is that fan favourite characters will return ;)So far, I have stuck with what I have heard to be canon about the reboot:-Lizzie is living in New York City, about to turn 30-She is dating a Chef-Her job is an Assistant to a Fashion Editor (Not sure how true this is, but I went with it)Hope you enjoy! Always happy to receive reviews and feedback!*Completed*
Relationships: David "Gordo" Gordon/Lizzie McGuire, Lizzie McGuire/OC, More Ships to come but don't want to give away any surprises
Comments: 48
Kudos: 26
Collections: Disney and NonDisney Prompts, Favorite Disney Fanfics, Stories with Disney characters





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: I have no affiliation with Disney, Disney Plus, the Lizzie McGuire Creators/Writing team. (That would be awesome though)

It was 2:30 PM on a Friday, and most people would already be in relax-mode - preparing for the weekend ahead.

Most people did not include Lizzie McGuire. At least, not today.

Lizzie's office phone was currently ringing off the hook, fingers flying across the keyboard as she typed an email to a photographer visiting the office next week. She was hyper-focused, but she could feel herself starting to get a little light-headed. When was the last time she ate today? As soon as she hit send, she picked up the ringing phone, trying to project as pleasant of a tone as possible amidst her stress.

“Elle Magazine, Lizzie Speaking.”

“God finally, I have been trying to reach you for three minutes straight!”

Lizzie rolled her eyes but maintained a calm tone. It was her boss, Meredith, Fashion Editor of Elle Magazine. 9 times out of 10 when her phone was ringing – it was her. 

Lizzie had been Meredith’s Assistant for 5 years, even though it felt like closer to 50. She had to repeatedly remind herself she was lucky to work for one of the most prolific names in fashion, even if it was the grunt work. Even on a day that Lizzie would forget to remind herself of this - Meredith would be sure to bring it up in some way, shape or form.

“Sorry Meredith, I was going back and forth with Oscar trying to confirm a time for him to come to the office next week. This guy has the craziest schedule ever.”

“And?”

“Wednesday at 2 PM.”

“I said beginning of the week, but I guess that will do.” Lizzie mouthed the words “You’re Welcome” to herself, before Meredith continued. “Anyways, Lizzie – I need you to run a really important errand before the end of the day. It’s for Igor, the VP of Finance. He is hosting a birthday party for his twins and I need you to bring over some party supplies that were delivered to the office. Can you get there for 4 pm?”

Lizzie looked at her calendar and sighed. She was supposed to have a half day off today for the overtime she had put in over the past few weeks for Christmas season. That was already down the drain, so she guessed there was no reason she should say no.

“Sure, I can make it work. Where does it need to be delivered?”

“It’s that vegan place on St. Nicholas Ave.”

Lizzie’s jaw dropped. “The one on the other side of Central Park?!”

“That’s the one. You better get going or you won’t make it in time.”

Lizzie turned off her computer, and picked up her purse. “Heading there now. It’ll be tight for time… but I won’t let you down!” 

“Thanks Lizzie, feel free to head home for the weekend after that. Oh, but text me when it’s been delivered so we know it’s there. Not like the Christmas party scone fiasco.”

Lizzie clenched her fist to stop herself from letting out a frustrated scream. First of all, it was not a fiasco. The scones were there on time – Lizzie just forgot to let Meredith know that she had picked them up. Meredith was not the best at giving genuine compliments – she always managed to throw in a jab. Great quality for a boss to have, right?

“Thanks Meredith. Have a great weekend.” She hung up, rushing out the door and around a few corners to the reception area, where her co-worker Suzie was sitting.

“Hey girl, is there a delivery for Igor’s kid’s birthday party?”

Suzie winced slightly, before going around the corner to get it. Lizzie’s jaw dropped when she saw what the item was.

A giant llama piñata. 

“You have got to be kidding me.” Lizzie mustered out.

“They want you to bring that across the city to the restaurant?!” Suzie replied in disbelief.

“Yeah,” Lizzie scoffed, as she reached to pick up the piñata, walking towards the door and pushing it open. “Before 4 pm.”

Suzie frowned, opening her mouth to respond, “But-“

“Sorry I’ve gotta run, but thanks girl!” Lizzie shouted, as the door shut behind her.

She shuffled, struggling to carry the piñata that was almost the size of her towards the elevator. Right when she saw the elevator, she noticed the sign saying “Out of Service”. Dang it. At least, she only had to go down 10 flights of stairs? Not to mention in platform shoes…  
Slowly and carefully, she clunked down the stairs in her platforms, looking at her watch quickly to see how much time she had. 2:50 PM.. if she could catch a cab, she would be golden – with time to spare. 

Her eyes scanned the busy street as she tried to spot a cab. She saw at least four occupied cabs go by, and started walking down the street towards Central Park to see if she could possibly spot another one. After ten minutes of weird looks from people passing by and what seemed like a thousand cars and bikes, she finally saw a cab stop at the street light.

Lizzie ran to the cab and tapped the window, tilting her head to the side with her best attempt at a charming smile as the driver jumped in his seat. She gestured for him to roll down the window, and she said “Hi! I really, really, really need a ride to St Nicholas Avenue like yesterday. I promise I will tip you well just please let me in.”

The taxi driver looked at the piñata with disgust. “You can come in, but you’ve got to ditch that. There’s no room in here for that.” He looked at it as if it was some sort of rotten sandwich.

“Wait- but – this.. this llama piñata is very important. It’s for the VP of finance of Elle Magazine! I can only get in if it comes with me.” She begged, trying to give him puppy dog eyes. She reeked of desperation.

“Sorry, no can do.” He shrugged, as the light turned green and he sped off. 

“Wait!” She called again to the cab driver as he drove off, clutching the piñata closer and gave her watch another quick glance. “Oh crap, 3:15…” She looked up at the park and realized, the only way she was getting across was on her own two feet.

She took a deep breath, crossing the road to the entry into the park. She was never going to make it in time, clunking awkwardly in the platforms as her feet started to hurt. She could almost hear her Mom’s voice in her head about the importance of “buying sensible shoes”. She looked down at her feet and sighed again, looking at the pinata. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” She slid off her platforms, and trekked barefoot across the park as quickly as she could, keeping an eye on the ground to make sure she did not step in doggy-doo-doo or a needle or anything sketchy. “Ew..ew..” she muttered to herself. She knew for sure was not paid enough for this.

After what felt like five hours of walking (and a homeless man trying to buy the piñata off of her for 75 cents) she finally made it to St. Nicholas Ave. She looked at her watch again and it read 3:58. “Crap, crap, crap..” She muttered under her breath, dropping her platform shoes on the ground and slipping into them before entering the restaurant. 

Out of breath, she approached the hostess desk, placing the piñata on the counter. The man at the desk looked alarmed as he looked at the piñata wide-eyed and back at her. “Can I help you?” 

“Yes, this is for Igor Isyov, the Elle Magazines’ VP of Finance’s twin’s birthday party. I was told it needed to be here by 4:00 PM and it’s..” she glanced at the clock behind him excitedly, “exactly 4:00 PM!” 

He gave her a slightly confused look, glancing at his calendar book at the desk. “Right.. for their reservation tomorrow at 4:00 PM.”

Lizzie’s eyes widened. “Excuse me, did you say...tomorrow at 4:00 PM?”

He nodded, picking up the piñata. “Yep, we will keep it in our storage area until then. Bye now.” He said as he swerved around the corner out of sight. Lizzie turned on her heel, taking a deep breath as she was trying to keep her cool as she left the restaurant. She pulled out her cell phone and texted Meredith: Delivered the llama piñata to the restaurant. She was very tempted to add some sass to the text, but she held back. It was the weekend now, she just wanted to put this week behind her.

As she took a few steps outside, a heavy rain started falling. Lizzie looked up at the sky in despair. “Seriously? Ugh!” She let out a shriek, and noticed a teenager on the corner of the street looking at her as if she were a crazy lady. 

“I’ve had a bad week, okay!” Oh no… Lizzie could feel herself starting to lose it. Why on earth was she trying to justify herself to some random dude on the street? Dejectedly, she made her way down the subway steps. She couldn’t wait to be home, once this hour commute to Brooklyn was over.


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a crazy day at work, Lizzie is looking forward to coming home to her boyfriend Jaxx - but the night is not as relaxing as anticipated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: I have no affiliation with Disney, Disney Plus, the Lizzie McGuire Creators/Writing team. (That would be awesome though)

As much as work was a pain, there were definitely positives about her overall New York experience. She had been living in New York since she miraculously made it into the Global Fashion program at NYU after high school. 

At the time, she didn’t feel like she was leaving too much behind. Her parents had mixed feelings about her going to school across the country. Her Dad thought it would be a good experience for her, and with the dedication she showed to her studies throughout her last couple years in high school – she would be able to push through. Her Mom on the other hand, was worried sick. This was to be expected. She promised her Mom that she would call her every night, and she (mostly) stuck to that promise. Her brother Matt was happy to have her out of the house, as he now thought this meant he had two rooms. This was also to be expected of her younger brother.

Then there were her best friends at the time… Miranda and Gordo. Truthfully, her and Miranda were not as close as high school went on. It was hard to pinpoint an exact moment when their closeness started to fade, but in Lizzie’s mind it began when she came back from her epic adventure in Rome that Miranda had missed out on. At the time, her Mom had warned her not to make Miranda feel jealous or that she had missed out – but Lizzie couldn’t help but gush about the entire experience. The part that Miranda had been stuck on was the kiss between Lizzie and Gordo. When Lizzie admitted that her feelings for him had been blossoming for quite a while now, Miranda did not have the positive reaction that she had been expecting. She said her and Gordo couldn’t date, because it would ruin their friendship dynamic and make her feel like the third wheel. It would be even worse when they inevitably broke up since “high school relationships never last”. Lizzie was hurt by Miranda’s words, but did see the truth in them. It was quite rare for high school relationships to last, and it wasn’t worth putting her friendship with both Gordo and Miranda at risk for it. 

When Lizzie let Gordo know about Miranda’s reaction to their kiss, she could tell Gordo was a little hurt as well. He put on a brave face and said that he understood where she was coming from, and that they could go back to normal with no problem. 

Things did feel normal for a while, until junior year when college was on the forefront of everyone’s minds. Gordo was dead set on getting into the film school he had been dreaming of since he was four, and began hitting the books harder than usual - being less available for hanging out with Lizzie and Miranda. Miranda told Lizzie in confidence that she didn’t think college was the right path for her, and that she wanted to travel for a bit after high school to find herself. Lizzie basically told her she was nuts and that she should figure out her plan before senior year. After that, Miranda started hanging out with a different crowd at school that she had met in one of her arts classes. It didn’t take long for Lizzie to piece together that these kids were certified stoners. She warned Miranda that these people weren’t the right crowd, and Miranda told her that “at least they supported the path that she wanted to take for her future.” Scared that Miranda was going to become a druggie, Lizzie may have crossed a line and told her Mom, who in turn told Miranda’s Mom. Miranda was furious at Lizzie and said she needed space from their friendship. Lizzie felt a little bad, but she knew in her heart she had done the right thing… or so she thought. 

She confided in Gordo about the situation and he let Lizzie know that her intentions were good, but she didn’t go about it the right way. He said Miranda would probably come around, and that she should focus on what she wants to do after school. Lizzie and Gordo spent most of their senior year studying and planning for the years to come. Without Miranda in the picture, some of those previous feelings did come rushing back… but right as Lizzie was thinking about addressing it, she found out that she got into NYU for their global fashion program. There was no way Gordo was going to abandon the program of his dreams for her, and she wouldn’t dare ask him to. It was just a case of bad timing, it seemed. Her and Gordo stayed in touch through the years, but the frequency of them talking became less and less as their schedules got busier.

In New York, she made a few good friends from her fashion program that became her roommates throughout college. Her closest friend was a girl named Jade. Her personality could not have been more different from Lizzie. She was fearless and spunky – some of that spunkiness reminded her of Miranda, which was probably why she had been drawn to her in the first place. Jade was a boy magnet and a party girl. She never seemed to get attached to boys and Lizzie had no idea how she did it. Lizzie decided not to tell her parents too much about Jade, knowing that they would not be big fans of her wild ways. Lizzie got her internship with Elle after busting her butt in the global fashion program, which after a couple of years turned into her Assistant role that she was currently in. Jade did not have the same passion for the program that Lizzie did, and decided to pursue a job as a waitress in a trendy restaurant instead.

This is how Lizzie met Jaxx, the Sous Chef at the trendy Manhattan restaurant Jade was working at. After some disastrous Tinder dates, including a guy who cried about his ex the whole time, and one who kept asking her questions about her feet – she decided to let Jade set her up on a blind date with him.

Jaxx wasn’t the type of guy that Lizzie had previously envisioned herself with. He was no Ethan Craft, and definitely had no similarities to Gordo. First of all, he had a sleeve of tattoos. Lizzie never considered herself a tattoo person, but on him... they undeniably looked hot. He had a buzz cut (usually Lizzie preferred guys with more hair- but yet again, he pulled off the buzz cut look quite well.) 

His defined muscles and perfect smile were to die for. Not to mention, he was an amazing chef with a stable job – it doesn’t get much better than that, especially considering Lizzie was about to turn 30, and that was weighing on her mind a lot these days.

Personality wise, Jaxx was chill and went with the flow, which was rather surprising for a chef. This was exactly what she needed when she dealt all day with strong personalities at work. Her and Jaxx had been working well together in her opinion, and he had even asked her to move in with him a few months into them dating. They had been dating for about 6 months now, living together for 2 months and so far, she had almost no complaints. The only thing was that they worked very different schedules, so there was only one day a week they would be together the whole day, and the rest of the day they would only get to see each other for about 2 hours.

She finally got to their quaint Brooklyn loft, turning the key into the knob. As she entered the apartment, the delicious smell of Pad Thai wafted through her nostrils. She took a big sigh of relief, as she saw Jaxx serving up home-made Pad Thai on dishes for the both of them. This made her hectic day so much better. It was one of his days off and she was thankful they would be able to spend it together. 

“Just in time, babe.” He smiled over at her, as she slid off her platforms and was limping awkwardly toward him to pull him into a hug. “Why are you limping..?”

She winced. “I’d rather not talk about it… I just want to put this crappy week behind me, and enjoy this time with you.” The cheesy words escaped her mouth without hesitation and she leaned towards him for a short, sweet kiss. 

When they pulled away, Lizzie said, “Let me get into something more comfortable. I’ll just be a sec.” She skipped over to their room in her bare feet. As she was about to open the closet door, she noticed something small but sparkly in her peripheral on their bed. She moved closer to the bed and picked it up, realizing it was a dangly crystal earring. Her eyebrows furrowed in concern. It sure as hell was not her earring, as her ear piercings had closed up years ago. 

Only one person she knew wore dangly crystal earrings…

“Babe, can’t promise you this Pad Thai will stay warm forever!” Jaxx called out from the kitchen.

Slowly, Lizzie made her way back into the kitchen, holding the earring up by the hook. “What is this doing in our bed?”

He took a quick glance up at what she was holding and then looked back into the sink as he continued cleaning the pan. “Oh, your earring probably got mixed in with the laundry I was doing earlier… Sorry about that.”

Not the answer she was hoping for.

“Jaxx,” she moved closer towards him, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, her tone cold and somber. “I haven’t worn earrings since I was in tenth grade. Let me re-phrase the question… Why is Jade’s earring in our bed?”

“Oh right,” He laughed nervously. “She was over here earlier, because she wanted to borrow one of your dresses, obviously.” He paused before continuing, his tone still uncertain. “Didn’t she tell you?”

It felt like an eternity of silence before Lizzie felt her eyes start to well up. 

“How could you do this to me…?” Her voice came out unrecognizable to her own ears. 

Jaxx opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. “No… you’ve got it all wrong.. .Lizzie, c’mon...” He walked towards her slowly with his arms open to hug her, and she held up her hands in protest. 

“You’re right, Jaxx. I had it all wrong. I had it all wrong when I would watch you guys flirt, and thought it was just in my head. I had it all wrong when your co-worker thought you and Jade were the ones dating, and I thought it was just a silly mistake. I had it all wrong when I thought you two were the only ones you really cared about me in this whole damn city.”

He stayed silent as he tried wiping away a tear off her cheek, and she stormed into their room - now uncontrollably bawling her eyes out. She swung open the closet door, pulling out her suitcase and laid it on the ground as she started pulling clothes off the hangers and shoving them into her bag.

“Lizzie, stop. Please. You’re not going anywhere. Where are you gonna go?” Jaxx begged, letting out a light incredulous laugh, as if she were overreacting.

“Anywhere but here. I’m done. I’m done with you, with her, with everything here.” Lizzie shrieked furiously, as she started to pile the shoes she had in her bag and zipped it up.

“Okay Lizzie, I’ll let you have your space and think this through.” He sighed deeply, leaving the room and she heard the door close behind her.

She put her head in her hands, trying to slow down her breathing and think of what her next move was. 

There was only one thing that felt right to her.

She pulled out her phone, dialing the only number she still knew off by heart. It rang twice before she heard the warm, familiar voice that she missed so much.

“Lizzie, Sweetie, how are you?”

She could not hold back her tears as she mustered out the words. “Mom … I’m coming home. For good.”


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After two excrutiatingly long weeks, Lizzie arrives home and reunites with her family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't expect the family part to be so long, but I thought it might be nice to have a short chapter devoted to that. I promise the next few chapters will get more juicy!

The past two weeks could not have gone by slower for Lizzie. In an ideal world, she would have been on a flight the same night that she found out about Jaxx and Jade. Unfortunately for her sanity- she knew that she could not just leave from Elle Magazine without notice, throwing the past five years…scratch that, nine years… out the window. She had to do the responsible thing and give her two weeks’ notice before she could come back home. No heartbreak could outweigh the blood, sweat and tears she had put into her career since arriving in New York.

Meredith, her boss, was shocked when Lizzie spilled the news. “I thought this was your dream job?!” She uttered in disbelief. Lizzie wished so badly she could tell her that dragging a llama piñata across Central Park in platform shoes was NOT her idea of a dream job, but she managed to hold her tongue. She felt she had practically mastered the concept of self-control while working at Elle. Gordo would be proud. A positive that came out of the situation was that Meredith promoted Suzie, Elle’s Receptionist and one of Lizzie’s favourite co-workers, into her role. At least she knew what she would be getting herself into instead of some innocent soul from the outside- as Lizzie once was.

Lizzie venmo’d Jaxx her half of the rent for the month, and found herself an Airbnb to stay in while she finished her two weeks at Elle. Unfortunately, her paycheck couldn't cover anything too extravagant. She found a listing which was an 8 by 8 room near Chinatown and Lizzie booked it with no hesitation. She did not want to have to risk going on the subway and running into Jaxx or Jade. Her two giant suitcases filled with her possessions took up most of the floor space in the room, and the grungy smell of grease circulated through the vents 24/7- but anything was better than being stuck at her cheating ex’s place.

She felt relieved when she finally sat down on the plane headed home. New York had not been the fantasy that she had been dreaming of when she left home, and it had been difficult for her to fully wrap her head around that until now. She was trying not to think about having to figure out her life again from scratch. Sure, she had graduated from a prestigious fashion program and L.A. was not too far away from home… but the thought of having to claw her way back up within the fiercely competitive fashion industry was not very appealing to her. At least, not right now.

Suddenly, she understood what Miranda had meant in senior year about taking some time to figure out the right path for herself. That was exactly what Lizzie needed right now. Just time to breathe, think things through and not to jump into anything too fast. She missed Miranda more than ever, but she highly doubted those feelings were reciprocated.

After what felt like forever, Lizzie finally got through the security gate, lugging her giant suitcases behind her awkwardly. She wished she could part ways with more of her belongings – but she couldn’t help that she had so many cute pairs of shoes!

“Lizzie!”

She looked up at the sound of her Dad’s voice, seeing her Mom, Dad and Matt waiting at the gate for her, waving wildly.

Instantly Lizzie broke down into tears, running as quickly as she could towards them and straight into her Mom’s arms. “Mom – I,” she couldn’t even muster out how much she missed the comfort of her family’s embrace.

“Oh honey.” Jo looked at Sam with a heartbroken expression, as she held her daughter close and Sam was patting her back soothingly.

Matt looked at her suitcases in awe. “Did you bring all of New York with you?!”

Lizzie let out a chuckle and a sniff at her brother’s words, wiping away her tears. “You wouldn’t believe the amount I left behind.”

“I’m glad you’re back, Lizzie. Now my household chores list has decreased by half.” 

Lizzie rolled her eyes playfully and punched Matt in the shoulder. “You’re still a dork.”

After a relatively quiet car ride, Lizzie smiled as they pulled into the driveway, looking blissfully at the house they had lived in their entire life. This was home. A part of her felt crazy for ever wanting to leave it behind.

As they got into the house, Lizzie began to lug her suitcase up the stairs, step by step.

“Matt, help your sister!” Jo’s voice echoed through the hallway, causing Matt to roll his eyes as he grabbed the other suitcase and muttered, “Of course.”

Lizzie felt her eyes well up again as she opened the door to her room, which hadn’t changed one bit since she left for New York. Mr. Snuggles was still placed right in the middle of the bed by her pillows.

“Aww, Mr. Snuggles.” She sat on her bed as she cradled her favourite stuffed animal. “You’re the only man I need in my life.”

Matt let out a snort of laughter and Lizzie shot him a glare. “Would you cut me some slack here?! I just went through hell and back, Matt.”

Matt sighed, plopping down beside her on the bed. “Okay, fine… only because I need your help with chores later.”

“Yeah, sure.” Lizzie responded in a defeated tone, and Matt cleared his throat. 

“You know, one might say I’m somewhat of an adult myself.” Lizzie’s eyebrows furrowed as Matt spoke, pausing dramatically before he continued. “A mature, sensible, wise-“ 

Lizzie held up her hand. “Okay I’m going to stop you there. I have trouble believing anyone has ever used any of those words to describe you. Can you get to the point?”

“I’m just saying that since I'm an adult now, you can talk to me about things and I won’t go and tell the world on social media…. maybe… I'm just saying, I’m sure there are things you don’t want to explain to Mom and Dad.”

Lizzie let out at a sigh. This was Matt’s way of showing that he cares. She wasn’t about to shut that down. It was probably good for her to talk it out with someone instead of bottling it up inside.

“I just.. I thought my life would be so different now, you know? I’m turning thirty soon and I just feel like I have nothing to show for it.”

Matt nodded slowly, “Thirty is a little..” Lizzie shot him another death glare before he continued his sentence, causing him to wince slightly with a forced smile, “Overrated?”

“I feel like I wasted my twenties working crazy long hours and hardly doing anything fun for something that isn’t even my passion anymore.” It stung, as she spoke the words she had been thinking and been in denial about for so long.

“Seriously?! But you were working at one of the top fashion magazines in the world for over five years… Mom bragged about it every twenty minutes.”

“Yeah, as their errand monkey... Would you believe me if I told you I had to drag a Llama through Central Park?!” Matt’s eyes widened before Lizzie clarified. “Not a real llama.”

“I was about to say… for a second, your job sounded way cooler than I thought!” Matt exclaimed and Lizzie let out a light laugh.

“I don’t just mean the job stuff though… some of the friendships and relationships I thought were real there were just a lie.”

Matt gave her a knowing look. “Okay, I swear you and that guy were dating for like.. two days before you decided to move in with him… you’re over him already, right?!”

Lizzie gawked at him, mystified. “You really don’t understand girls at all, do you?”

“Nope, not at all.” He agreed frankly, shaking his head. “Hey, but you’re back home now, and Gordo’s still around, so that’s something.”

Lizzie smiled at the thought. “Thanks Matt for the… weird... but good talk.” 

Matt made a salut-motion and said, “My work here is done. And with that, I’m out.”

Lizzie shook her head with a smile as Matt left. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts before she landed on Gordo’s name. The contact picture for him was still the one from her 8th grade yearbook, when she kissed him on the cheek unexpectedly during the group photo they took.

Her finger hovered over the call button, but she couldn’t find the courage to press it. Why was she so nervous? They would always be friends, no matter how much time had passed. It had only been a few months since they spoke last, which was pretty common for them now- but this time felt…different.

Lizzie took another deep breath and finally pressed the call button. The phone rang three times before she heard that familiar, warm voice that she missed so much.

“Hey Lizzie, how’s it going?”

“Hey Gordo! I- uhhh, long story short… I’m back home for good, and I have so much to tell you. You’re still living at that place on Valencia, right?”

“Uh, yeah I ac-“

“I’ll be over in ten minutes. I promise I’ll explain everything.” She hung up the phone quickly as she swung her purse over her shoulder, not even giving him the chance to respond back before heading out the door.


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lizzie finally reunites with Gordo, to an unexpected surprise.

Gordo’s new apartment was only about ten minutes further away than his old house. It was in an up and coming, hipster area of town. In fact, Lizzie and Miranda made a bet in seventh grade that he would live there when he grew up. She actually owed Miranda a frappuccino for that one... Lizzie had bet he would be living in a modest ranch bungalow in Hollywood Hills. Who knows, maybe one day.

She shut her parent’s car door gently behind her as she walked towards the terrace of his ground floor unit. She hadn’t physically been there since he had moved in, as she was in New York at the time- but she had made sure Gordo gave her a tour through Facetime, so she could feel like she was part of the experience.

She knocked on the sliding door and it only took about 5 seconds for Gordo to show up on the other side of the glass, giving her an awkward wave as he opened the door.

“Lizzie, I need to-“

She interrupted his words as she threw her arms around him excitedly with a shriek, causing him to practically fall backwards into the doorframe. Lizzie noticed that he had grown a couple of inches since they last saw each other a few years ago, and he now surpassed her in height. 

“You have no idea how much I missed you, Gordo.” She said earnestly as she buried her head into his shoulder. He smiled into her hair, sighing. For a moment, it felt as if she had never left.

The moment was interrupted by an unfamiliar female voice. “Oh my gosh, you must be Lizzie!”

Lizzie jumped back in surprise as she looked at the girl in front of her, who was leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom. The girl couldn’t have been taller than five feet, with a cute mousy nose, gorgeous green eyes and an auburn pixie cut.

“Yep, that’s me… I’m Lizzie,” She responded awkwardly with a wave, turning to Gordo with her eyebrows raised for an introduction.

Gordo winced slightly at the awkwardness before walking towards the pixie haired girl, who immediately cozied up to him – which was a very strange sight for Lizzie to see.

“This is Alice.” He paused, looking at her before looking down at his feet. “My girlfriend.”

Lizzie couldn’t help her jaw from dropping. She never had a great poker face.

“Girlfriend? Oh my gosh! Hi!” She sputtered out, her tone as enthusiastic as possible as she tried to mask her shock.

Alice smiled earnestly at Lizzie before giving Gordo a quick glance. “Well, I’m sure you two have some catching up to do, so I’m gonna get going.” She walked towards the door before turning back at a still-utterly shocked Lizzie. “It was nice to finally meet you, Lizzie.”

“You too,” Lizzie croaked, with an uneasy chuckle.

As soon as the door closed behind Alice, Lizzie whipped around dramatically to face Gordo, crossing her arms. 

“Before you get mad,” Gordo jumped in, raising his hands in surrender. “I swear I was planning to tell you and not have you find out in this.. rather awkward.. way.”

“Rather awkward? Really, Gordo? Understatement of the year.” She scoffed. “When did you two start dating?”

Gordo let out an awkward, panicky laugh and placed a hand on Lizzie’s shoulder. “Okay, before you get really mad..” 

Lizzie blinked dramatically, mentally preparing herself for Gordo’s words. “Go on.”

Gordo took a deep breath before continuing, pointing nonchalantly at her hair. “Did you do something with your hair? It looks..nicer..than usual-“

“Get. To. The. Point. Gordo. You can’t trick me into pretending you care about what I do with my hair.” She paused. “But to answer your question, coconut oil.”

“A year and a half.” He blurted out quickly, shielding his face with his hands as if she were going to slap him.

With no emotion, Lizzie made her way to the couch, sitting down and holding one of the pillows close to her chest. Gordo slowly approached her, taking a seat beside her on the couch apprehensively. “I can’t tell if this is a good or bad reaction.” He muttered under his breath and two seconds later, Lizzie started repeatedly whacking his arm with the pillow in her hand.

“What-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you?!” She yelled between each hit with the pillow as he crouched up into fetal position on the other side of the couch. 

“Are you done with the violence?” 

Lizzie sighed heavily, slumping into the back of the couch. “I guess I got most of it out of my system.” 

There was a long moment of silence, before her tone of voice changed to somber. 

“I just don’t get it. You’re my best friend… why didn’t you tell me sooner? I feel like I just keep getting blindsided by people. I just want honesty, is that so much to ask?”

Gordo nodded in understanding. “It just.. never felt like the right time, you know?”

Lizzie scoffed again, fidgeting with her hands in her lap. “How about all the times I went on and on about Jaxx? Seemed like any of those moments would have been a perfect time.”

Gordo stayed silent for a moment as he collected his thoughts. “You just seemed so sure about that guy. You talked about him like you knew there was a future and… I just don’t know if I had the same confidence about Alice and I.”

Lizzie wasn’t sure if it were her imagination, but it felt like her heart was starting to race. “Why not?”

Gordo moved closer towards her on the couch as he explained. “Look, Alice is great. She’s smart, she’s pretty, she works with me in movie production and we can talk for hours about all the stuff we have in common. She’s kind of the female version of me.” This made Lizzie laugh and Gordo smiled uneasily before continuing on. 

“But you know that feeling in the pit of your stomach when you are having the worst possible day - and then that person says something, or even just smiles at you, and you just forget about everything else in the world?”

They locked eyes for a moment as she nodded slowly in response. He didn’t have to say anything else. Gordo finally broke the silence, speaking in a soft tone. 

“What happened, Lizzie? Why did you decide to come back?”

Lizzie took a deep sigh. “That guy I was 'so sure about' cheated on me with the girl that I thought was my best friend… I also realized what I thought was my dream job was more of a nightmare job, and I had been living in denial for far too long.”

Gordo looked devastated. “I’m sorry, Lizzie. You know you deserve so much better.”

She waved her hand nonchalantly. “It’s fine, really. I just needed to come home and be surrounded by people that I trust and love me unconditionally. That’s why I freaked out about you not telling me about Alice…kind of a sensitive topic for me right now, I guess.”

“I feel really bad about that, I should have told you sooner. You were right.”

Lizzie gasped. “Did you just say… I was right?” She placed a hand against her chest in mock-surprise. “Who are you and what have you done with Gordo?!”

“Don’t get too used to it.” He joked in response.

Lizzie found herself stifling back a yawn, as she took a quick look at her phone at the time. “Well, I’ve officially been awake for 20 hours now, so I should probably call it a day.” She got up from the couch, swinging her purse over her shoulder.

He nodded in agreement, opening the sliding door as she walked out.

“Hey, you and Alice should hang out sometime, one on one. She’s always talking about wanting more friends that are girls, since we work with so many guys.”

“For sure,” Lizzie agreed. “I’d like that.”

“See ya, Lizzie.” 

She walked to the car, chewing on the inside of her lip as she tried to process all that just happened as she headed back home.


	5. 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lizzie runs into someone unexpected from her past.

Over the past week or so, Lizzie was slowly getting back into the norm of living with her family. Her Dad was always up the earliest, newspaper and coffee in hand, before he tended to the lawn gnomes in the backyard. Matt was out of the house a lot more than Lizzie was used to, as he was enrolled at California State University in the Criminal Justice program. It was a little ironic for him to be studying Criminal Justice, but he had figured the closest thing he could become to a spy was a Private Investigator. Her Mom was checking in with her at least twice a day to see how she was holding up, trying to prompt conversation about the things that had happened because it was “healthy” to. Lizzie kept telling her Mom that she didn’t want to be stuck in the past. She just wanted to be in the moment for now, and get to her future in a bit.

It was a bit of an adjustment for her being back in a house with her family, after living in the residence environment with Jade and then living with Jaxx after that. Something that she strangely missed was grocery shopping, so when she offered to her parents that she would take over the weekly groceries, they were thoroughly surprised. It was an activity she found strangely relaxing. Plus, she could throw in a few favourites of hers that her family would not otherwise purchase- such as Raspberry Kombucha.

Her Mom recommended that she go to the Walmart, as there was a lot of construction around Trader Joe’s, which was their usual spot. 

As Lizzie was completing the grocery shopping at Walmart, her phone buzzed with a notification on Facebook and she pulled it out of her pant pocket. She smiled slightly as she read “Alice Watson has added you as a friend on Facebook.” She pressed the accept button, and decided to send her a message: So glad we got to meet! Let’s hang out sometime.

As she was looking at her phone, Lizzie crashed her grocery cart into one of the fruit stands, causing her to fall backwards and knock over the blueberries as they rolled away down the aisle. Something she had never grown out of after all this time was her clumsiness.

“Ouch,” Lizzie muttered, rubbing the back of her head that smacked the floor. 

A moment later, she heard a familiar voice from behind her. “Is everything okay over here?”

Lizzie turned around to look at the person speaking and her mouth dropped. It was Kate Sanders, more surprisingly, in full Walmart uniform.

“Kate?!” Lizzie exclaimed in disbelief, as Kate also shouted “Lizzie?!” at the exact same time, before extending her hand to help Lizzie get back onto her feet.

“I thought you were in New York?” Kate asked, her tone uncertain. 

“Long story..” Lizzie trailed off, before looking at Kate again. “I thought you were acting?”

“Also a long story.” 

Lizzie brushed off her pants again before piping up. “Well… are you off soon? Would you want to go for coffee at the Digital Bean?” 

After Rome, her and Kate had been on better terms, but they never ended up running in the same circles in high school. She was very curious as to what had happened for Kate to be working at Walmart, of all places.

“Sure, I’ll be off in fifteen minutes. I’ll meet you out front.”

“Cool.” Lizzie smiled, as she went to finish the rest of her grocery shopping.

Fifteen minutes later, Kate had changed out of her Walmart uniform and back into what Lizzie would describe as “Regular Kate” attire- a cute floral blouse and a short jean skirt. If she had run into Kate like this, there was no way she would ever believe that she had the capability of being a Walmart Employee.

They walked over to the Digital Bean, which made Lizzie smile as she stepped inside. It hadn’t changed one bit. The dim lights, bean bags and colourful furniture instantly brought back a wave of nostalgia. 

“I’ll order us two Chocolate Chills – my treat.” Lizzie offered, as Kate thanked her and ran over to snag a table. She ordered them from the owner Martin, who had been there for as long as Lizzie could remember. She was pretty sure he didn’t remember her and she wasn’t about to bring up the time that she was a terrible busboy for a week (in fact, she had tried to wipe that from her own memory).

Lizzie sat down at the table, handing Kate her Chocolate Chill and taking a sip of her own. 

“Okay, I will try to make the longest story ever as short as possible. Because not gonna lie, what happened today was one of my worst fears coming true. I didn’t think anyone I knew shopped at Walmart, but I guess I couldn’t keep it a secret forever.” Kate sighed dramatically, sipping her drink before continuing her story.

“After high school, I got into AMDA for performance arts and I thought I had it made. I heard a lot of stories about the things girls did to get their foot in the door. At that point, I was still with Ethan... I was scared that if I had a boyfriend, it would hold me back from being able to flirt with directors and stuff, which meant I wouldn’t have the upper hand against all these other girls. So I broke up with him.”

Lizzie’s jaw dropped. “You did not!”

Kate nodded slowly. “I did… I thought it was the right thing to do at the time. It didn’t really hit me ‘til later that I had thrown away a perfectly good eight year relationship.” She slumped her shoulders dejectedly.

Lizzie blinked. “Is he still single?”   
Kate shot her a look before Lizzie cleared her throat. “I mean.. if you ever wanted to get back together with him...” Sure, that’s what Lizzie meant.

“He’s an international water polo player now. I’m sure he has girls hanging off him left, right and center. Even if I did tell him I wanted him back - I don’t think I have the same effect on him as I used to. I don’t think either of us took the breakup too well, to be honest.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Kate… did you land any acting gigs?”

“Uh, hello Lizzie, have you been living under a rock? I guest starred on Grey’s Anatomy as a girl who overdosed, I did a bunch of commercials... People still come up to me and compliment my work in the Toyota commercial I did five years ago.” Kate spoke with pride, and Lizzie nodded slowly. She realized she had never sympathized with Kate more than she did in this moment. 

“Last year, I had an audition for a TV show and I was almost cast as one of the leads. I thought it would finally be my big break… and they ended up choosing someone else. After that, I realized that what I was doing wasn’t enough to pay the bills, so I got a job at Walmart - trust me, not my first choice. I quickly got promoted to Department Manager and it’s been helping, at least until I find my breakout gig.” 

“Have you ever considered going back to school for something else?” Lizzie asked.

Kate’s brow furrowed for a moment as she pondered Lizzie’s question. “I’d be lying if I said I never thought about it… but I just feel like if I did, I’d be giving up, you know? As if the past ten years of work were for nothing.” 

Lizzie nodded in understanding. “For the record, I know exactly how you feel. I was holding onto the fantasy of New York for so long, that it was blinding me from realizing I wasn’t happy there anymore. I came home to find happiness and my sense of worth again.”

Kate smiled at her solemnly. It probably felt good for her to get this off her chest. “Are you still close with Miranda and Gordo?”

Lizzie took a deep breath. “Well, Gordo and I would call each other and catch up every few months while I was away. But you know what I just found out? That he’s had a girlfriend for a year and a half and never told me.” She shook her head in disbelief.

Kate let out a small chuckle. “Well it’s pretty obvious why, Lizzie. I swear we had the exact same conversation in Rome all those years ago.”

Lizzie dropped her glance to her lap and shook her head. She was not ready to address the amount of mixed feelings she had towards Gordo; She hadn’t made sense of it in her own head.

“I could have sworn after that trip you and Gordo were going get married, have cute dorky kids together and live happily ever after.” Kate recalled.

“Yeah, well… Miranda wasn’t too thrilled about it. She said high school relationships never last and that it would mess up our friendship dynamic.” Lizzie used finger quotes as she repeated Miranda’s words from the past.

Kate scoffed, lightly rolling her eyes. “Why do I get the feeling that you and Miranda aren’t friends anymore?”

Lizzie’s mouth twisted at Kate’s words. “I guess we grew apart... She started hanging out with a bunch of stoners in high school. I told my Mom because I was worried about her, my Mom told Miranda’s mom.. and then Miranda said she needed space which turned kinda permanent.”

“She’s still around, you know.” Kate’s words made Lizzie perk up, and gave her a bit of hope - maybe they would have a chance to reconcile after all.

Lizzie’s thoughts were interrupted as Kate’s phone buzzed loudly, but Kate pretended not to notice it.

“Sooo, have there been any new guys in your life?” Lizzie probed, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

“Um, not really.” Kate’s phone buzzed again and she turned her phone over, causing Lizzie to raise an eyebrow.

“Kate. If you’re gonna make it in showbiz, you’ve really got to work on your acting skills.” Lizzie let out a smirk at Kate’s discomfort.

“Well… I have this thing with this guy. It’s not romantic…at all…believe me.”

Lizzie knew she was onto something. “Oh, so more of a hook up buddy?”

“Sure, you could call it that.” As Kate’s phone buzzed a third time, Lizzie swiped it from across the table and Kate shrieked, reaching over to wrestle it out of her hands.

“Give it back, Lizzie!”

Lizzie managed to pull it completely from her grasp to read the home screen: 3 Missed Calls from Larry T.

“Oooh, Larry...” Lizzie said in a taunting tone, before looking back at the screen again incredulously. “Wait- T as in Tudgeman? Larry Tudgeman?!”

Kate winced, putting her head into her hands. Lizzie could not deny she was loving this.

“OK…Fine… we ran into each other at a bar a few months ago. He has his own tech start up now and he finally ditched that God-awful shirt.. I swear I almost didn’t recognize him at first.”

This didn’t surprise Lizzie too much – as weird as he was, he was smart and had the potential to one day blossom, or at least just improve from his middle school self.

If someone had told her in middle school that Kate Sanders would be hooking up with Larry Tudgeman, she would have been sure they were not right in the head.

Lizzie nodded as Kate spoke, her eyes still wide with surprise. “You know, he compliments me and buys me stuff, so it’s not thaaat bad.”

“What does he buy you?” Lizzie asked, perplexed.

“Oh you know, just some nice shoes, lingerie, my Sephora collection – just the essentials.” Kate said, glancing at her manicured hands.

“Ew, is he like your Sugar Daddy or something?” Kate shushed Lizzie as she spoke, hitting her lightly on the arm and looking around at the other tables to make sure no one heard.

“No Lizzie, a sugar daddy would be paying my rent, phone bill and buy me a new car. It’s definitely not the same.”

Lizzie tilted her head to the side. It sounded pretty similar to her, but she decided it would be best to keep her mouth shut. “Whatever makes you happy.”

Kate finally checked her texts. “Well, I’ve got to get going now. Thanks for the Chocolate chill.” Lizzie waved her hand and Kate quickly piped in, “Oh and no telling Gordo about any of this!”

Damn it. That was exactly what she intended to do. “Mum’s the word.” Lizzie promised, with a slight eye roll. 

“Glad we got to catch up. You know, you should go back to visit Hillridge sometime. I think you’ll find what you’re looking for there.” Kate said cryptically with a parting smile, before turning around to go.

Lizzie’s brow furrowed at her words, not sure what Kate was getting at. Her train of thought was interrupted as a middle-aged man in a suit approached her table. “Mind if I steal this chair?” Lizzie nodded and he took the chair to the next table over, where she noticed the man was sitting with Martin, the owner of Digital Bean.

“I’ve been telling you for two years now, Martin. This place will turn five times more profit when it’s converted to a Starbucks. This location has the prime target market. It’s time to get with the times, pal.”

Lizzie noticed Martin scanning the papers in front of him.

“So it’s a deal? I’ll have my people call your people.” The man said to Martin, shaking his hand before he got up and left.

Lizzie didn’t know what had gotten into her, but she found herself approaching Martin’s table and taking a seat. “Sorry, I couldn’t help but overhear… did that guy say that Digital Bean is going to be turning into a Starbucks?”

Martin nodded in confirmation. “For the past five years, we’ve hardly been keeping afloat. We barely broke even last year. With the rent skyrocketing this year, I don’t think we have any other choice.”

“What?! I couldn’t imagine growing up here without Digital Bean. I’m sure a lot of people feel that way too… there must be something that can be done?”

He looked at Lizzie quizzically. “What would you suggest? Also, who are you again?”

Lizzie beamed. “I’m Lizzie McGuire. I grew up here, in fact I worked here as a bus girl for a week as my first job… but never mind that. I think you need to find more ways to put Digital Bean out there. Are you even on social media?”

He shook his head slowly.

“Martin! You need to create a Digital Bean Facebook, Twitter and Instagram account STAT. Also, you guys have this little stage which is awesome, but I’ve never seen anyone perform live.” She glanced around. “Bean bags are good, the cozy vibe is a classic, but I swear you haven’t changed this menu in fifteen years. Maybe add some specials every week or something. Millenials love that.” 

Martin was nodding, trying to write everything down before he paused and his face lit up. 

“Would you be willing to help me? For a few hours a week… I probably couldn’t afford much more… but the thought of turning this place to a Starbucks truly makes me sick. If there’s anything we can do to save Digital Bean, I’m willing to try.”

A giant grin spread across Lizzie’s face. “Yes! I’m in.” 

She shook his hand excitedly. For a moment, Lizzie started to feel like she was finding her purpose again.  
\--


	6. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lizzie and Alice grow closer, as she shows her around some old childhood hangouts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a super long chapter today, but thanks so much for all the feedback so far guys! Keep the comments coming and I hope you enjoy the next chapters to come<3

Later that evening, Lizzie received a Facebook message back from Alice, who happily agreed to Lizzie’s proposal for them to hang out the next day. Deep down, Lizzie still had mixed feelings about the situation. Obviously, it was not Alice’s fault in the slightest – she seemed like a genuinely nice girl. Lizzie couldn't ignore the convoluted history between her and Gordo, as well as how Gordo felt he had to hide being in a relationship from her. Not to mention, Lizzie had no idea if Alice knew anything about her past with Gordo. Would he have told her? Judging by how private he had been about Alice, she had her doubts. A part of Lizzie wanted to ask Gordo about it… but what if he asked her why she wanted to know? She would have no idea how to answer that question. After a few messages exchanged back and forth, they agreed they would grab some coffee and explore where her and Gordo grew up.

They decided to meet near Lizzie’s house and walk to the Digital Bean.

“Here’s where I got my first job,” Lizzie recalled as she walked in the front door with Alice. “It was a bus girl job and it was a disaster… but nothing could turn me off this place.” Lizzie explained as Alice giggled at her story.

“Hey, I’ve been here before… Gordo took me here on our first date.” Alice beamed in recollection, and Lizzie returned a small smile in response. She wasn’t overly surprised that he would take her to a coffee shop on a first date, but Digital Bean held a certain level of nostalgia that Lizzie felt belonged to her, Gordo and Miranda. Of course, Lizzie knew that was a selfish way of thinking and Gordo would never agree with her thoughts on the matter.

“Well,” Lizzie continued, “They want to turn this place into a Starbucks because it’s not profitable enough… I’m kind of working with the owner to see if we can make a last attempt to save it.” 

Alice’s expression lit up as Lizzie spoke. “That’s really cool of you, Lizzie. Is there anything I can do to help?” 

Lizzie pondered Alice’s question, as her eyes eventually landed on the stage in the corner of the shop.

“I would love to host some live music nights here. They’ve got the perfect set up for it, which would be such a differentiator from Starbucks.”

Alice’s brow furrowed in thought. “It’s not much, but my brother is in a cover band. They cover mostly 90’s and 2000’s alternative rock stuff. It could match the vibe here… they’re not half bad either, if you wanted to give them a shot.”

Lizzie’s eyes lit up. “That would be great! They should come do a test run here later this week. I’ll ask Martin when a good night for that would be. Thanks so much, Alice. You rock!”

She couldn’t deny that Gordo had picked a good one.

Alice waved her hand nonchalantly. “Anytime. I wouldn’t want to see the place I went with the love of my life on our first date to turn into some basic ole Starbucks.”

Lizzie’s eyebrows raised at Alice’s words. “Love of your life, huh?”

Alice tilted her head to the side. “Well…maybe… I’m not sure. I kinda wanted to talk to you about that, actually.”

Lizzie’s heartbeat started to accelerate. Oh crap. Alice was totally about to call Lizzie out on her history with Gordo.

“Sure, what’s up?” Lizzie mustered out awkwardly, scratching the back of her head.

Alice stared ahead into the distance as they picked up their drinks from the counter and exited the shop. 

“Has Gordo had his heart broken before? By an ex, maybe?”

Hmm.. maybe this was not the conversation she assumed was going to happen. Lizzie kept her gaze glued on her feet, as they walked along the sidewalk. 

“Uh,” Lizzie paused, collecting her thoughts. “Not that I know of. Why do you ask?”

Alice sighed before continuing. “I just feel like he has this wall up, you know? I’ll be open and vulnerable with him about literally everything, but I feel like he never does the same with me.” She shrugged her shoulders defeatedly.

Lizzie chewed on the inside of her lip as she listened to Alice’s concerns.

“I think that’s just a guy thing. It’s not your fault.” Lizzie said before she internally cringed. Was that really the best response she could come up with?

“But that’s the thing about Gordo,” Alice retorted, “He’s not like other guys. He’s smart, considerate and we can talk for hours about anything else.” 

Lizzie knew Alice’s words were undoubtedly accurate. But why wouldn’t Gordo fully open up to Alice? Lizzie’s initial train of thought was wondering if she had anything to do with it – but she was probably overthinking the situation. She reminded herself that not everything was about her. “Have you ever straight-up asked him about it?”

“I’ve tried… he has always kept pretty private when it comes to emotions. I think I’m his first real girlfriend, but I have this feeling that I’m not his first love, you know?”

Lizzie swallowed, feeling her stomach drop as if she were on a roller coaster as she finally looked up at the scenery around her. “Oh – this is Hillridge, our old school! Let’s go in.”

Alice did not seem phased by the change of topic and they walked up to the building, opening the heavy front doors.

Hillridge hadn’t changed at all. Same smell, same lighting, same paint colours and lockers. Lizzie sighed a breath of relief. Just like Digital Bean, she was happy that no matter how much time had passed, some things never change.

“Let’s look at the graduating class photos.” Lizzie suggested, as they walked down the hallway. They scanned the wall of photos until they found the class of 2003. 

Quickly, Alice was able to spot Gordo’s individual graduation photo, pointing at it with a friendly chuckle.

“Aww! He hasn’t changed much, has he?”

Lizzie smiled knowingly at the photo. “Not really.” She scanned through the other individual photos until she landed on hers, pointing at it so Alice could see. “Sometimes I feel like I’ve changed so much, but then something happens and I feel exactly like the girl I see in this picture. Young, naïve..” Lizzie trailed off, reflecting on the times she had felt embarrassed or ashamed in her personal life, from then until now. 

Her eyes glanced over to the next photo, which was the group shot in the cafeteria yard where she happened to be kissing Gordo’s cheek. 

“Um – let’s go look at the faculty pictures. I’m curious to see who still works here.” Lizzie tugged Alice’s arm across the other side of the hallway.

Lizzie’s eyes scanned the recent picture for familiar faces. “There’s Coach Kelly. She’s an absolute powerhouse. Oh, and Mr. Pettus, guess he’s still teaching science…” She froze in awe at the photo and name of someone she was not expecting.

“Miss Miranda Sanchez. Spanish Teacher and Coach of the Glee Club.” Lizzie read out loud in disbelief. Kate’s words suddenly echoed in her mind about finding what she was looking for at Hillridge. She made a mental note to thank Kate later.

Alice opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a familiar male voice behind them.

“Lizzie McGuire, is that you?”

Lizzie and Alice spun around and Lizzie practically jumped for joy at the sight of who was standing there.

“Mr. Dig! Are you still subbing here?” 

He nodded confidently. “You know what they say, Lizzie. A tiger never changes his stripes.”

That must have been the most sane analogy Lizzie had ever heard him say.

Lizzie felt Alice’s eyes on her, and she gestured towards Alice. “Mr. Dig, this is Alice, my new friend and Gordo’s girlfriend.” Lizzie introduced, as they shook hands politely.

“I must say, it’s kind of weird to see you hanging out with a girl who isn’t Miranda.” Mr. Dig joked, and Lizzie let out an uncomfortable laugh.

“Is she around?” Lizzie asked, gesturing towards the picture of Miranda on the faculty board.

“Pretty sure she just left. If you rush, you might be able to catch her in the parking lot.”

“Thanks, Mr. Dig! Alice, we’ve gotta catch up with her.” She jolted with Alice towards the front door of the school, as she waved goodbye to her old substitute teacher.

“So, Miranda was the one you and Gordo used to be close with?” Alice questioned, as Lizzie realized she was probably pretty confused by the interaction that just occurred.

“Yes,” Lizzie confirmed, slightly out of breath as they were speed-walking towards the parking lot. “It’s my fault we aren’t friends anymore, and it’s about time I make things right.” Lizzie admitted, her eyes scanning the cars in the distant parking lot. “That’s her!” Lizzie exclaimed, pointing at Miranda, who was turned away from them and approaching a small red car waiting for her in the parking lot.

“Miranda!” Lizzie attempted to call out, but they were too far away to be heard. They continued to run towards the parking lot, and they noticed the driver roll down the window. Lizzie froze in place when she realized who the driver was, with her gorgeous tanned skin and curly dark hair.

“Who’s that other girl?” Alice asked, squinting in the direction of the car. 

“Claire Miller. She was one of the mean girls at Hillridge. We never saw eye to eye... Miranda even less so.” Lizzie explained.

Alice’s eyebrows raised in surprise as she looked over at the car again. “Well, it looks to me like they are seeing more than just eye to eye now.”

“What do you-“ Lizzie turned around and gasped before she could finish her sentence. 

Miranda and Claire were sharing a long, passionate kiss.

Lizzie blinked furiously as if she were trying to wake herself up from a strange dream.

“Lizzie…are you okay?” Alice asked in a concerned tone, as they both looked on at Miranda skipping around the car to the passenger side and getting in, as they drove off the other way.

“I think I need to sit down.” Lizzie finally replied with a blank expression on her face, as they sat on the bench at the front of the school. 

“I take it you didn’t know Miranda…swung that way.” Alice mused, as she pieced together Lizzie’s reaction.

“Not at all.” Lizzie admitted, shaking her head. “Maybe that was what Miranda meant all those years ago when she said she wanted to figure things out… I just hope she didn’t feel like she couldn’t talk to me about it.”

Alice shook her head sympathetically. “You can’t blame yourself. She was young and probably having doubts about anyone in her life accepting her at that point. It may be a different landscape now, but if you’re saying the last time you guys spoke was 15 years ago… things like that weren’t as accepted and out in the open as they are today.”

“You’re right.” Lizzie admitted. She was very happy that Alice was there in that moment. “You’re definitely logical, no wonder Gordo likes you.” Lizzie continued with a small laugh, and Alice laughed along with her.

Lizzie knew she still needed to find the courage within herself to make amends with Miranda, but she definitely needed some time to process what she just saw first before anything.


	7. 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lizzie and Miranda have an open conversation for the first time since high school.

Since her visit to Hillridge, Lizzie had been dealing with a bundle of emotions. She wasn’t sure how she should feel. A part of her was mad at Miranda for letting their friendship fall apart, and a part of her was mad at herself for trying harder to preserve it. For the longest time, they had been attached at the hip and were the first to know all of each other’s secrets. Now it felt like they were complete strangers.

She couldn’t stop wondering how long Miranda had known this about herself. Was it while they were still friends? Did she not feel comfortable telling Lizzie? What if she had feelings towards Lizzie and that’s why she couldn’t be friends with her anymore? Whoa…back up, Lizzie. She was getting way too ahead of herself. Undoubtedly, there were a lot of unanswered questions and Lizzie felt it was time for some answers.

She pulled out her phone and opened Miranda’s name in her contacts. The picture was from their first day of high school. She remembered how excited they were that day, telling each other how the next four years were going to be the best years of their lives. Boy, was she wrong.

She clicked “New Text Message” and started to type. “Hey Miranda, I saw..” She muttered under her breath, then shook her head as she back spaced the message. “I want to talk with you..no. Sounds too… I don’t know. Ugh.” Lizzie let out a frustrated sigh as she pressed the lock button on her phone and tossed it across her bed. She laid back on her pillows, staring at the ceiling blankly.

A moment later, Lizzie heard the doorbell ring downstairs.

“I’ll get it!” Sam yelled from the backyard. Lizzie closed her eyes, trying to drown out the thoughts in her head.

“Lizzie, it’s for you.” Sam called up the stairs.

Lizzie opened her eyes suddenly and sat up. She was not expecting to see anyone today. Quite frankly, she wasn’t in the mood to either. She shuffled down the stairs and her eyes widened in disbelief at who was waiting for her in the foyer.

It was Miranda.

“M-Miranda.” Lizzie stammered. She must have been reading her mind.

“Hey Lizzie,” Miranda replied, her tone soft. Seeing her up close, she realized that similar to Gordo – Miranda hadn’t changed much. Her fashion sense was still spunky, rocking a one shoulder black top with a student belt over jeans. Her hair was styled in a short bob that just passed her chin, and it definitely made her look more mature.

“Sorry if it’s weird that I’m just showing up out of the blue.” Miranda continued, trailing off as she eyed Lizzie to gage her response.

Lizzie waved her hand towards the kitchen as a welcoming gesture. “No worries, come in. Do you still like Chai Tea?” Lizzie asked as they walked to the kitchen.

“Absolutely.” Miranda grinned, as she took a seat on one of the kitchen stools. 

Lizzie took two tea mugs out of the cupboard and turned on the kettle. Miranda cleared her throat awkwardly.

“Look, I’ll cut right to the chase – Claire told me she saw you and some girl at Hillridge yesterday… and I thought now would be a good time to catch up, now that you’re finally home.”

Lizzie nodded slowly in response, as she poured the hot water into the mug and passed it to Miranda, leaning her forearms against the counter. Guess it was less random then she thought… she truly thought she was being stealth!

“It’s funny actually, I ran into Kate last week and she told me I might find what I’m looking for if I go visit Hillridge.” Lizzie paused, as a small smile formed on her lips. “She was right.”

Miranda returned Lizzie’s warm smile with a chuckle. “Who would have thought we would be getting information about each other through Kate and Claire?”

“Okay, I’m just gonna come right out and ask… you and Claire? Like.. what?!” There was an awkward silence before they both burst out into laughter. It almost felt like old times.

“Yeah…that must have been quite the shock for you.” 

“Understatement of the year… Spill!” Lizzie prodded.

“Well, it took me about a year or so after high school to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I did some travelling to Mexico, then Central America… then I came back and needed to make some extra money, so I started tutoring my neighbour in Spanish. Seeing how I was able to help her on her tests, getting A’s when she only ever getting C’s… it made me feel good about myself for the first time in years. I realized that’s what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.” Miranda recalled, beaming.

“So I finally got the courage to apply to college out of town, I move into my dorm and guess who my roommate ends up being?”

“No way…what are the chances?” Lizzie shook her head in disbelief, before Miranda continued her story.

“At first, not gonna lie… it was a bit hostile. We mostly avoided each other because she was putting her all into getting on the cheerleading squad, and I figured she hadn’t changed. Until one day I came back to the dorm and she was an absolute mess. I’m talking wine drunk at 2 PM mess.”

“Yikes.” Lizzie squirmed at the thought of seeing Claire in that state.

Miranda let out a small chuckle. “At first I thought it was karma finally biting her in the ass for all the times she was a crappy person. But then she opened up about how worthless and untalented she felt… I had never related to anyone as much as in that moment with her.” Miranda admitted. 

Lizzie opened her mouth to respond and then closed it again.

“What is it?” Miranda asked, as she noticed Lizzie’s hesitance.

“I guess… I just wanted to know if that’s what you were talking about in senior year, when you said you needed some space to figure things out.”

“Yeah, I guess it was.” Miranda admitted, causing Lizzie to frown slightly.

“I don’t get it... did you think I wasn’t going to be your friend anymore, because you liked girls?” Lizzie asked, confused.

“I…” Miranda paused, as she thought carefully about her next words. “I wasn’t sure if anyone was going to accept me if they knew the truth, Lizzie. I tried to talk to you about it a few times that year, but you would always brush me off because you had to go study or you would change the topic to New York.” 

Lizzie started to feel her stomach churn in guilt. She didn’t remember any of those moments. Had she been that self-absorbed?

“I feel terrible, Miranda. I didn’t realize that my head was up in the clouds.” She apologized in a shameful tone.

Miranda shrugged helplessly. “I started hanging out with the arts kids instead because they would ask me about my day and listen to me when I felt like venting. Plus, two of them were gay, so I got to talk to them about it in a guaranteed judgement-free zone. I didn’t want to talk to Gordo about it, either. He would have defended you no matter what, and that wasn’t what I needed to hear at the time.”

Lizzie bit the inside of her cheek nervously. “I wish I could have been a better friend to you, especially when you were going through such a hard time. You were always there for me. And I also know there were a bunch of times over the past few years where I wished you were still by my side.”

Miranda waved her hand casually. “No use fretting about it now. It’s funny… my Mom always said friends like us would always find their way back to each other.”

Lizzie smiled at Miranda’s words. “I always liked your Mom.”

“But yeah, Claire and I have been together for five years and also living together. Being college roommates was a good test for that.” 

“So it’s safe to say that our middle school selves were wrong to think she was an absolute witch?” Lizzie asked, and they both shared a laugh.

“I think she had been dealing with liking girls for a lot longer than me. She said she felt like something was wrong with her at the time, so she had to put up this cold front and try her hardest to be popular to feel good about herself.” Miranda explained.

Lizzie let out an exasperated sigh. “Wow, that’s kind of sad. I would have never guessed… do you think you two will go the distance, then?”

“I really think so… we have good laughs, good conversations and you can bet we’re not afraid to challenge each other’s opinions.”

Lizzie beamed at Miranda’s words. “I’m happy for you, Miranda. I’m glad one of us has our life figured out.”

“I have to say… I thought you and Gordo would be married by now with a baby on the way.” Miranda admitted, placing a hand on Lizzie’s shoulder and then sipping her tea.

Lizzie’s jaw dropped. “What?! After I told you about us in Rome, you made it pretty clear that him and I together was a bad idea.”

Miranda winced as she scratched the back of her head.

“Yeah… I would be a pretty big hypocrite if I didn’t apologize for that. Look, Lizzie… it’s no secret that Gordo has been in love with you since you guys were toddlers. When you started to return those feelings for him… I was kinda jealous.”

Lizzie stayed quiet for a moment as she processed Miranda’s words. “Jealous because you…?” 

Miranda shot Lizzie an incredulous look and she smacked Lizzie on the shoulder before she could finish her statement. 

“Oh my God, definitely not that. No. Never. Not where I was going with that, at all.” She confirmed, and they both started howling with laughter at the awkward exchange. Lizzie was relieved to know that her other best friend hadn’t had a crush on her too.

“Then why were you jealous?!” Lizzie probed.

“Because your love would be so natural, so normal… and for me it would never be that easy. It took me a long time to fully grasp why I couldn’t accept you two together – and I’m sorry. I really am.”

“Oh, Miranda.” Lizzie ran over to the other side of the kitchen counter and pulled Miranda into a hug. “You have no idea how much I needed this.”

Miranda smiled, nodding in agreement. “Me too.”

Their moment was interrupted by the doorbell ringing. Lizzie turned to Miranda uncertainly as she did not want to interrupt their reconciling, but she nodded to the door as a “go-ahead” gesture.

Lizzie made her way over to the door and opened it to see Gordo standing there, with a warm smile.

“Gordo, you’ll never guess-“

“Oh, he knows I’m here. I told him to come by.” Miranda was now behind her in the doorway, and Lizzie placed a hand over her own heart.

"I wanted to give you guys some alone time first, so I decided it would be best to be fashionably late." Gordo explained, shrugging his shoulders.

“Group hug!” Lizzie shouted, and they all laughed as they wrapped their arms around each other.

For the first time in a while, Lizzie felt complete.


	8. 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice's brother's band does their test run at Digital Bean and Lizzie runs into a moral dilemma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized after some feedback that I should back-edit something: Alice would be calling Gordo "David" instead, as it makes more sense as Gordo was his childhood nickname and they met as adults- going to back edit this in the chapters so it is consistent throughout!

Since Lizzie, Miranda and Gordo had reunited earlier in the week, Lizzie’s morale had significantly raised. It raised to the point where her Mom had stopped asking her four times a day how she was doing (now she only asked once a day – Lizzie’s newfound optimism spoke for itself.)

With her newfound energy, Lizzie was able to put her heart and soul into the project she committed to – saving Digital Bean. 

Alice confirmed that her brother’s cover band, aptly named “As If” – (Lizzie appreciated their commitment to the 90’s theme, as well as the nod to one of her favourite movies, Clueless) would be doing their test set on Thursday after closing. 

Alice walked in to the Digital Bean promptly at 9:01 PM, waving at Lizzie who had been sitting at one of the tables working on her computer. Following Alice were the four band members, who on a first glance, Lizzie noted were all good looking. She could tell right away which one was Alice’s brother, who was pretty much the boy-version of her.

“Lizzie, I’d like you to meet my brother Luke, as well as his band members Charlie, Shane and Travis.”

Lizzie extended her hand to Luke, but instead of shaking it, he planted a kiss on it - causing Lizzie to nervously laugh.

“Do you like singers, Lizzie?” Luke asked in a flirty manner.

Lizzie’s eyes shifted nervously to Alice, who was rolling her eyes at her brother, looking slightly embarrassed by the situation.

“Um, not really… bad experience.” Lizzie mock shivered at the memory of Paolo. Yeah, not going down that road again. Luke was taken aback by Lizzie’s abrupt rejection, while the 3 other boys chuckled at the encounter.

“Please excuse my brother. I’m so sorry about him.” Alice pulled Luke away by the arm and Shane stepped in, shaking Lizzie’s hand in place of him and smiling earnestly at her.

Lizzie felt herself blush slightly as their eyes met, noticing how his icy blue eyes nicely contrasted his dark brown skin.

Charlie and Travis also shook her hand pleasantly before they hopped on stage. Luke was adjusting the mic stand, while Travis and Shane were tuning their guitars and Charlie was testing out the drums.

Lizzie and Alice sat down at one of the tables close to the stage, as the band got ready to perform.

“Shane’s pretty cute… got any intel on him?” Lizzie whispered to Alice, who shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

“Yeah actually… we used to date.”

Lizzie’s eyes widened at Alice’s confession. “Isn’t this kind of weird for you then?”

Alice tilted her head in thought, her gaze somewhere out in the distance. “I mean, it didn’t end badly or anything. I had a little crush on him, then we began to hit it off… but I was starting my new job in production and the band was booking more gigs, so our schedules weren’t working out. No big deal.” 

Lizzie nodded slowly at Alice’s explanation. She, of all people, knew about bad timing.

“Does Gordo..I mean.. David know?” Lizzie blurted out, internally cringing the moment the words escaped her lips. It was not her place to be asking that. It was also very strange referring to him as David – it made him seem like a completely different person.

Alice looked taken aback by the question. “Uh, he knows I’ve dated before, but not specific details.” She paused for a moment before turning to meet Lizzie’s gaze. “You’re not gonna tell him, are you?”

“Of course not.” Lizzie answered automatically, her brow furrowing slightly. If it wasn’t a big deal that they dated, why couldn’t Gordo find out?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Luke tapping on the mic. “Hey, we’re “As If”, the best band you’ve never heard of.” Lizzie and Alice chuckled under their breath at his introduction, before Luke continued. “Tonight we’re gonna play one of our personal favourites, Fly Away by Lenny Kravitz.”

Alice gave them a thumbs up as a go-ahead to begin playing.

They nodded along with the song as they began to play, a smile spreading across Lizzie’s face. “They’re so good!” Lizzie exclaimed.

Lizzie’s eyes met Shane’s as he strummed the guitar. She couldn’t help but notice the definition of his lean, muscular arms. He must have noticed her admiring him, because he sent her a playful wink as the song went on. Lizzie dropped her glance to her lap bashfully, peering through the corner of her eye at Alice to see if she had noticed the subtle interaction. For a moment, she felt guilty for exchanging a flirty glance with her new friend’s ex – but then she remembered that Alice was dating Gordo, whom she had referred to as the ‘love of her life’. She had nothing to feel guilty about!

At the end of the song, Lizzie and Alice both stood up and clapped for them.

“You guys rock!” Lizzie exclaimed, “Would you be available to perform your set next weekend? We’re working on some menu changes and additions, but we should be good to go by then.”

“Totally.” Luke agreed, glancing at his band members who were nodding in solidarity. Alice ran up to the stage to speak with them, as the band started to pack up their instruments. 

Lizzie quickly pulled out her phone to text Martin with the good news: ‘The band was great! Should be ready with the menu additions and social media launch to host the event next weekend.’

As she pressed send, she looked up at the stage again and noticed Alice was talking closely into Shane’s ear. Alice’s body language resembled how she had been with Gordo at his place, her hand placed on his arm as she leaned in towards him. Shane didn’t seem to look uncomfortable by her closeness to him either. Lizzie crossed her arms, squinting in their direction suspiciously as she tried to analyze what she was witnessing.

Alice finally noticed Lizzie was looking their way and called out, “Lizzie, I’m gonna head out for a drink with the boys. Wanna come with us?”

“Thanks, but you guys can go ahead. I’ve got some work to do on the social media launch.” Lizzie waved, as they yelled their “Thank you’s” and closed the door behind them.

She was getting lost in her computer work before she suddenly heard a knock on the door, causing Lizzie to jump in her seat. 

She looked up to see Gordo peering through the glass door. She let out a light scoff as she put a hand over her heart dramatically, and got up to open the door for him.

“You scared me half to death!” 

Gordo looked relieved, almost to the point of smug. “It must be all of the horror films I have been working on… I’ll take it as a compliment to my craft.” He joked, causing Lizzie to shake her head in laughter.

He looked around the café casually. “Where’s Alice?”

“Oh, she’s joined her brother’s band for a drink. They were really good today.” Lizzie commented casually, squinting at the graphics on her computer screen as he took a seat beside her.

“That’s strange, we hardly ever drink. Well… not since I overdid it on scotch at last year’s company Christmas party.”

Lizzie let out a small snort in response to Gordo’s words.

“You never grew out of that short laugh, huh?” Gordo noted with a small smile.

Lizzie felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment. “I guess there’s some things we never grow out of.”

They locked gazes for a moment, before Gordo cleared his throat awkwardly.

“I’m really glad you and Alice have gotten to know each other over the past few weeks.”

“Hey, what’s important to you is important to me.” Lizzie replied, as she smiled half-heartedly. 

A sinking feeling spread in Lizzie’s stomach, causing her smile to falter to a look of concern. 

Alice made it pretty clear she didn’t want Gordo to know about her past with Shane – but if she didn’t mention it, did that mean Lizzie was pleading her allegiance with a girl she just met instead of her oldest friend?

“Are you okay?” Gordo took note of her concerned expression, furrowing his brow. Why did he have to be so dang perceptive?!

Lizzie scratched the back of her head. “I’m fine.. just a little torn about something, that’s all.”

“You know you can’t just say that and not tell me.” Gordo shot her a knowing look, causing Lizzie to let out a long-winded sigh.

“I’m not supposed to say anything, but Alice told me she had history with one of her brother’s band members.”

Gordo’s eyes shifted slightly. “Yeah, so? It’s history, as you said… she doesn’t need to foreclose every detail of her past to me.”

Lizzie nodded slowly. “True, but she was getting all close and touchy… I just found it a little concerning.” 

Gordo stayed quiet for a moment. “I think you’re overreacting, Lizzie.”

Lizzie couldn’t help but roll her eyes at his denial. 

“That’s exactly what I thought once too... I found out the hard way that what I thought was innocent, was not at all. I wish someone would have been there to tell me if they noticed something was even slightly off.”

Gordo shook his head again in disbelief. “Look, I get it. You have trust issues right now, because what happened to you was crappy. But jumping to conclusions is just going to do more harm than good. It’s a classic case of recency bias.”

Lizzie started to feel frustrated at Gordo’s reaction. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt, Gordo.”

Gordo held his hands up in surrender. “I appreciate it, Lizzie, don’t get me wrong. But Alice isn’t the bad guy here. Just because your story went that way, doesn’t mean mine will.”

Lizzie’s fingers clenched the pen she had been fidgeting with. Did he really have the nerve to pull that card on her? This fight felt like a blast from the past to middle school. All she was trying to do was help him, but seemingly it was just backfiring on her. Suddenly, she stood up and shut her laptop, now causing Gordo to be the one to get startled.

“Well, I’m sorry for being honest with you, Gordo.” She looked at the door and stood still for a moment, realizing she couldn’t be the one to storm out as she originally anticipated, since she had to lock up. 

“You can leave now.” The words came out colder than she intended them to.

Gordo opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again. He stood up and brushed past her as he walked towards the door. “See you.” He murmured, before walking out.

Lizzie felt herself tear up as soon as the door shut behind him. Could she go a single day without overcomplicating her life?!


	9. 9

A few days had gone by since Lizzie and Gordo’s heated conversation about Alice. Lizzie was trying her best not to think about it, funneling her energy into Saturday’s event instead. The past few nights involved her staying at Digital Bean after closing working on her computer by herself. Admittedly, it was not the worst distraction. At least it was productive. Although the healthier thing to do would be to address her problems head-on – this was working for her just fine.

Lizzie’s phone rang as she was making final touches on the promo posters that were going to put up around the neighbourhood. 

“Hey Miranda,” Lizzie said, as she tried to stifle a yawn.

“Hey Lizzie, you’ve got to check out Claire’s menu adjustments. Not to brag, but they’re awesome. You know how we’ve always wanted them to offer something Salted Caramel flavour? She put together the best hot and cold beverage recipe, it’s gonna blow the Starbucks one out of the water.” Miranda rambled excitedly.

“That’s great.” Lizzie replied half-heartedly, as she was staring blankly at her computer screen. Realistically, she only heard about half of what Miranda said.

“Okay, something’s up. You’ve always shared the same excitement for Salted Caramel as me, and that isn’t the reaction the Lizzie-that-I-know would have to this news.” Miranda pressed, causing Lizzie to take a deep breath.

“You really do still know me better than anyone.” Lizzie admitted, before continuing. “It’s just…something that happened the other day that’s been burning in the back of my mind. When the band came to perform, Alice said she dated one of them and then started acting all close and touchy with him. I thought it was…concerning…especially because she told me not to tell Gordo.”

“Don’t tell me you told Gordo…” Miranda inferred, and Lizzie stayed silent for a moment.

“Wouldn’t you?” Lizzie asked uncertainly. 

“I-“ Miranda tripped over her words. “I don’t know if I would’ve said anything. It’s not my place… and just because they were touchy doesn’t mean anything’s going on. She could just be a touchy person by nature. It’s hard to say when you’ve only known the girl for a few weeks.”

Lizzie shifted uncomfortably in her seat, before going on to justify herself. “Well, I thought it was the right thing to do. I was just in that boat where I got hurt because I ignored the subtle hints.” 

There was silence on the line for a moment before Miranda said quietly, “I think you need to figure out if that’s the real reason you said something to Gordo.”

Lizzie was taken aback for a moment. “What?! This is what friends do. I even told him, I wish someone could have done the same for me.”

“Uh huh…” Miranda trailed off, as she snickered under her breath.

Lizzie opened her mouth to retort but was interrupted by a knock on the door of Digital Bean, which had been closed for the past half hour.

“I’ve gotta go, Miranda. We’ll talk later.” They said their goodbyes and she walked to the door to open it up – to someone she was not expecting.

It was Shane, standing there with his guitar over his shoulder.

“Hi.” Lizzie greeted him in a friendly tone. “What are you doing here?”

“Hey, I was hoping you would be here.” Shane replied, with a charming smile. Why did he have to be so dang cute?!

“Well, you’re in luck. I’ve spent most of my nights here lately preparing for Saturday.” He brushed past her and walked towards the stage, picking up a guitar pick and showing it off to her.

“I forgot my lucky guitar pick here the other day. I can’t play the same without it.”

Lizzie let out a light chuckle. “Superstitious, huh?”

“Guess so.” Shane eyed her carefully. “Or…maybe I left it here on purpose, so I had a reason to come back and talk to this pretty girl who works here.”

Lizzie felt her heart skip a beat as she dropped her gaze to the ground bashfully. “I have to admit, I never thought a musician would be able to charm me again. But so far, you’re proving me wrong.”

“I was kinda curious what you meant when you said you had a bad experience with a singer.” Shane admitted, tilting his head as he kept his gaze on her. She couldn’t deny – it was cute that he remembered what she had said to Luke. 

“Long story short… an Italian pop star conned me into singing with him onstage at the Coliseum to make a fool of his ex-partner who was basically my twin.”

Shane raised an eyebrow. “I can’t tell if you’re kidding or not…”

Lizzie let out a laugh. “Believe it or not… it really happened. I sang on stage at the Coliseum in front of my friends, classmates and thousands of people. No biggie.” 

“That must have been…terrifying.” 

Lizzie nodded in agreement, and then shrugged her shoulders haphazardly. “Past the initial shock… it wasn’t that bad. Kinda helped that I actually could sing, though. If I couldn’t… I don’t think I would have ever recovered from that level of embarrassment.”

“Oh yeah?” Shane asked, impressed. “Still got it in you?”

Lizzie shook her head. “Oh no… it’s been like, fifteen years. Totally rusty now.” 

Shane swung his guitar gently from over his shoulder. “Who’s your favourite 90’s artist?” He asked, as he started to strum some chords absent mindedly.

“Well, I’d be lying if I said anyone except Britney Spears.” Lizzie admitted, scratching the back of her head.

“I’m in a 90’s cover band, of course I have a few Britney songs up my sleeve.” Shane said, and Lizzie’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Okay, how about Crazy?” She asked, eyeing him with curiousity.

“Sure, I know that one. Take the lead with the vocals.”

Lizzie opened her mouth to dispute it, but Shane began playing the beginning of the song. Lizzie gave in, taking a deep breath before she began to sing.

Baby, I'm so into you  
You got that something, what can I do?  
Baby, you spin me around, oh  
The earth is moving, but I can't feel the ground  
Every time you look at me  
My heart is jumping, it's easy to see

As she got to the chorus, Shane started to sing along with her, and they locked gazes as they sang together.

You drive me crazy, I just can't sleep  
I'm so excited, I'm in too deep  
Whoa oh oh, crazy, but it feels alright  
Baby, thinking of you keeps me up all night

Shane shook his head at the conclusion of the song. “If that was what you call rusty, I can’t imagine how awesome you were at the Coliseum.” He complimented, causing Lizzie’s cheeks to heat up.

“Singing again felt good.” Lizzie admitted, biting her lip.

“You’re welcome.” Shane teased, and she shoved him playfully. His hand travelled to meet hers, intertwining their fingers.

“You should perform it with me on Saturday, Lizzie.” Shane spoke softly, as Lizzie’s eyes met his, her fingers still interlocked with his.

Suddenly, Lizzie pulled away her hand and turned away from him slightly. “I can’t do this, Shane. I’m sorry.”

Shane’s brow furrowed slightly as he tried to process her sudden reaction. “Can’t do what?”

“The singing, the…” Lizzie gestured towards his hands, as she continued to ramble. “All of it. I just got out of this crazy relationship and moved back home to figure some stuff out on my own and-“

“Whoa, whoa.” Shane interrupted, placing his hand softly on her arm. “No pressure, Lizzie. About anything. It’s okay.”

Lizzie let out a sigh of relief, as his words managed to help calm her down.

“Wow… you’re really cool, Shane. No wonder Alice likes you.” As soon as the words escaped her lips, she covered her mouth with her hand. 

Crap, crap, crap. What on earth possessed her to say that?

“She still likes me?” Shane repeated Lizzie’s words back to her slowly. Were Gordo and Miranda right? He seemed genuinely surprised by her words. Maybe they were right and nothing was going on between them.

“As a friend, obviously!” Lizzie offered with a little too much confidence, nodding her head as she was trying to convince herself of it as well.

Now Shane was the one staring out into the distance. Eventually he broke the silence.   
“That’s the thing about Alice and I. We were never just friends.”

Uh oh.

“Just – forget I said anything, okay?” Lizzie stammered, trying her best to erase any potential damage she may have done.

Shane nodded, visibly uncomfortable. He swung his guitar back over his shoulder. 

“I’ve gotta go, early practice tomorrow.” He turned away and started to walk towards the door. 

Before leaving, he turned around to face Lizzie again.

“I meant what I said about you playing that song on Saturday. Just some food for thought.”

Shane half-smiled at her before closing the door behind him.


	10. Chapter 10

It was finally opening night for the new menu launch and opening night for “As If”. Lizzie had a knot in her stomach from all the nerves. What if all this work was for nothing? She knew this night was not the make or break for Digital Bean, but it would be a big indicator for Martin to see if these changes could drum up more business in the long run. Tonight definitely mattered.

Miranda and Claire had put their all into helping Lizzie this week as well. Miranda made sure there were announcements playing at Hillridge every day that week, and Claire had added some great drink specials to the menu. Seeing how well they worked together and bounced ideas off each other made Lizzie realize that Miranda and Claire were an unexpectedly great match. Lizzie had even reached out to Kate again, who told Larry, who was going to bring his entire staff there on his company’s tab. 

Who knew Kate and Claire would have been such contributing factors to Lizzie’s success?

She had not spoke with Gordo yet, but Alice told her that they would get there early on Saturday to help her with anything she needed. As much as she appreciated Alice’s efforts, a part of her wished she had been hearing it from Gordo directly.

Lizzie was completing some final touches at the Digital Bean, sketching a cute drawing on the chalkboard highlighting the new menu items.

Martin hung up his cell phone and approached Lizzie. “Great news. Our liquor license was just approved. I know it’s kind of short notice… but do you think your restauranteur friend could swing something last minute?”

Lizzie’s jaw dropped. Last minute was an understatement – the event was officially starting in 2 hours!

“Wow, that’s a game changer! I will see what we can do... Worst case scenario, I can make a mean rum and coke. We just need some...rum.” Lizzie offered, causing Marting to shake his head.

Lizzie dialed Miranda’s number. After 30 seconds of it ringing, she was still not picking up. Taking a deep breath, she dialed Alice, who picked up her phone on the second ring.

“Hey, remember when you said you’d be able to help with anything if needed? Definitely need to cash that in now.”

“Sure thing, what can we do?”

“Do you have any liquor at your place? We just found out we got our liquor license approved, but we have zero stock of anything.”  
“You’ve come to the right person. I’ve got a few cases of wine we hardly ever touch, a few bottles of rum from the Caribbean. I can stop by the store if you think we need anything else.”

“Thanks Alice, you’re a life saver.” Lizzie felt a pang of guilt asking for a favour from her, as she thought back on her most recent interactions with Shane and Gordo.

“Hey Martin, one of my friend has a few bottles of rum and cases of wine she has offered to bring. We can definitely offer some classic drinks and some boozy smoothies for a premium.”

Martin nodded. “Sure, charge an extra $2.50 to the base price of the smoothie to add a shot. That will definitely help with our margins. It’ll also be a good test to see if it’s in demand enough to add to our main menu.”

A minute later, Miranda and Claire walked in the Digital Bean holding hands. “Sorry I missed your call Lizzie, we were on the road.” Miranda explained, and then loocked at the board Lizzie was drawing on.

“Ohmigod, the liquor license came in!” Miranda and Claire started jumping for joy and Lizzie grinned at their reaction.

“I’m happy to be the bartender. We all know I’ll get the most tips, and face it.. I was born for this.” 

Lizzie let out a small laugh at Claire’s words. At least she found a way to channel her cockiness..er, confidence… into a good cause.

“Take it away, Claire. Alice and Gordo are bringing over the alcohol soon.”

Miranda shot Lizzie a knowing look. “Have you talked to him yet?”

Lizzie scratched the back of her head and coughed slightly, as if she was trying to indicate she did not want to talk it about it right there and then.

Claire rolled her eyes as she noticed Lizzie’s dramatics. “It’s no secret that you and Gordo are endgame. Everybody has known that since kindergarten, except you, apparently.”

Lizzie glanced at Miranda incredulously. 

“She’s sassy, but she’s right.” Miranda defended her girlfriend, and they leaned in to kiss each other.

“But to answer your question, no I haven’t.” Lizzie answered. Her stomach had partially been in knots about the event tonight, but some of those nerves were related to not knowing where and Gordo stood right now.

It never felt right when their last conversation was an argument.

They continued to set up the bar for another twenty minutes before Alice and Gordo came in, carrying a few crates of alcohol. 

Lizzie’s expression brightened. “Aww, you guys are my heroes!” She helped grab a crate that Alice was stacking and then returned to Gordo to help him with this as well.

“Thanks.” Gordo mumbled, almost guiltily as Lizzie half-smiled, taking a crate from his arms.

“These drinks are gonna be a hit. I’m so excited for this!” Alice beamed, and the rest of the group nodded in agreement. Momentarily after, Shane and the band walked through the doors, carrying their instruments.

“It’s the stars of the show!” Alice squealed, running towards them and started to help them with setting up on the stage.

Lizzie noticed that Gordo was squinting suspiciously in the direction of the stage. Lizzie gulped. Had her words gotten to him? Was he actually suspicious of Alice and Shane?

Suddenly, she rested her hand on Gordo’s arm softly. “Can we talk?” Lizzie asked, and Gordo nodded. They stepped away from the bar to a quieter area near the washrooms.

“I’m really sorry for what I said the other day. I may have…assumed some things, and you know what they say happens when you assume.” 

“It’s okay, Lizzie. We’ve been friends for long enough that I know you didn’t have bad intentions.” 

Lizzie smiled earnestly at him. “Thanks Gordo. It means a lot to me that you two are here tonight.”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Gordo returned her smile, before looking around. “It’s gonna be great. I’m not drinking personally, but you definitely deserve some celebratory drinks.”

“Oh, you bet I am. Not even to celebrate… just to calm my nerves.” Lizzie and Gordo shared a light laugh. “Let’s see if they need any help with the stage.” Lizzie gestured, and they walked in the direction of the stage.

“Hey Lizzie,” Luke called out, “Shane told us that you’re planning to steal my spotlight tonight.” Luke joked, and Lizzie immediately glared at Shane.

“What’s he talking about?” Alice looked between Shane and Lizzie, squinting slightly.  
“He’s just kidding. We sang a song here the other night. But I already told him I’m not performing.”

Gordo looked at Lizzie quizzically. “Why not? The Digital Bean would be a cake walk for you after the Coliseum.”

“Dude’s right.” Luke added, and a smug expression crossed Shane’s face. 

“C’mon guys, Lizzie has enough on her plate tonight.” Alice jumped in, looking at Lizzie understandingly.

“Lizzie, you have to do this! Claire and I both weren’t there when you performed the first time. It’s just one song.” Miranda ran up to Lizzie excitedly, tugging her arm. “Please, pretty, pretty-“

“Okay, fine.” Lizzie interrupted Miranda’s begging. “But I need at least a drink or two first.”

“You didn’t need a drink the other night.” Shane piped in, raising his eyebrows. Some intrigued glances were exchanged by the band members. Miranda looked confused, yet also intrigued. Alice and Gordo’s expressions remained blank.

“I’m gonna go help at the bar.” Alice said abruptly, not bothering to look at anyone before walking away.

Gordo frowned at her words, looking down at his feet.

“Let’s double check everything is set for 7.” Lizzie suggested, and they spread out around the café to make sure everything was good to go.

7:00 finally rolled around, and people started to slowly pour in. There were many familiar faces, such as Lizzie, Miranda and Gordo’s parents, Kate, Larry (as well as 20 of his coworkers), Mr Dig and some of the Hillridge faculty and parents.

“As If” started to play their set, which Lizzie took note that the crowd was vibing very nicely with.

The knot in Lizzie’s stomach was slowly easing, as she realized she had never seen this many people at the Digital Bean at once.

Even some unexpected people showed up.

“I just ran into Miss Ungermeyer outside the bathrooms… She’s checking everyone’s bag to make sure they aren’t sneaking in their own booze.” Miranda commented to Lizzie, causing her to chuckle. 

“Lizzie, Lizzie, Lizzie.” She overheard a familiar male voice, as she was sipping her second Strawberry Daiquiri. She turned around to face Ethan Craft, still looking as studly as ever – and even taller than she remembered.

“Ohmigod, Ethan?!” Lizzie swung her arms around her friend and former crush. “I had no idea you were in town!”

“I’m usually not, but I saw your post on facebook and I knew I had to come check it out!”

Lizzie beamed. “Thanks Ethan, that means a lot. What have you been up to?”

Ethan sighed. “Oh you know, just winning 4 water polo championships in a role. I’m pretty much royalty in Long Beach now. Chicks love me there.”

Lizzie was tempted to chime in that she’s pretty sure chicks would love him anywhere.

As soon as she opened her mouth to speak, Kate and Larry walked around the corner, and his hand was around her waist.

At the sight of Ethan, Kate’s eyes widened and she pushed Larry away from her.

“Ethan, hi!” Kate exclaimed. “I had no idea that you’d be here.”

Larry gaped at Kate. “Really, Kate?” It’s like middle school all over again…” He trailed off, before continuing. “Maybe Ethan can get you that new Chanel handbag you wanted. Even though he probably thinks Chanel is a river.” Larry quipped, before storming in the other direction.

Lizzie covered her mouth to stop herself from bursting into laughter. Kate gasped dramatically and Ethan had his permanently confused expression plastered on his face.

Kate and Ethan were now looking at each other, almost longingly. 

“I’m gonna let you two catch up.” Lizzie suggested, before walking away from the two of them, snickering under her breath and what she had just witnessed.

“Hey Lizzie,” She heard a whisper, realizing it was Shane calling her over towards the side of the stage.

“Are you ready?”

Lizzie took a deep breath. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Break a leg.” Before Lizzie could answer, Shane leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her lips. She wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol in her system, or because it happened so quickly, she didn’t even have time to react. Lizzie turned to look towards the bar and noticed that Alice had been looking in their direction, but quickly turned her head away.

“Next on stage, Lizzie McGuire!”

Lizzie smiled as she stepped onto the stage, and Luke handed the mic to her.

“Thanks everyone for coming and supporting the Digital Bean. We are forever grateful for your support and we will continue to need it after tonight. For those who know me, the past few years I have lived on the other side of the country. Coming back made me realize the importance of the places and the people that truly make this place home. I hope some of you feel the same way too.” 

The audience clapped for Lizzie, and Miranda shot her a thumbs up.

She nodded at Shane to start playing the guitar, and she started to sing the first verse of the song, just as they had practiced the other day.

The audience was loving it, and Lizzie felt the familiar rush of excitement to when she had gotten into the groove of performing fifteen years prior at the Coliseum.

Her eyes wandered across the audience at the familiar faces there to support her, and her eyes stopped on Alice and Gordo, who were at the bar. Alice looked tense, downing back her drink while Gordo smiled warmly at Lizzie as she performed. It brought her back to all of those years ago when he came to her rescue in Italy after he found out the truth about Paolo.

The audience erupted into applause as they finished the song. Lizzie did a quick curtsy, before exiting the stage. Her parents and others in the audience were congratulating her profusely, as she looked over to the bar again, realizing Alice and Gordo were no longer there.

Frowning, Lizzie scanned the café and could still not see them anywhere.

She walked around the corner to where the washrooms were, and noticed that Gordo and Alice were in the corner, in the middle of a heated conversation.

“So what if they kissed? Why does it matter?” Gordo’s tone was just as frustrated as when he had spoke with Lizzie the other day.

“It’s just a girl code thing. You wouldn’t understand.” Alice snapped back at him, slurring her words. It was no secret she had slung back a few drinks. She did not even sound like the same person that Lizzie had come to know.

“Girl code thing? What?! I feel like I’ve just been propelled back to middle school.” 

“I’m sorry, Alice. He caught me by surprise when he kissed me. I didn’t mean for you to feel betrayed.” Lizzie interrupted, internally praying that her words would be helpful as opposed to hurtful. She felt she had done enough damage already.

“You have nothing to apologize for, Lizzie.” He turned to Alice again. “It shouldn’t matter that a guy you had a fling with in the past kissed someone else.”

Lizzie winced at Alice’s expression of surprise at the realization of Gordo knowing her history with Shane. Now Lizzie sure had something to apologize for.

“What the hell, Lizzie? I thought we were friends.” Alice turned back to look at Lizzie, clearly hurt.

“We are… I jumped to conclusions and thought something was going on between you and Shane, but I was wrong.” Lizzie admitted, her tone apologetic.

Gordo still looked extremely frustrated.

“I just don’t get why you’re so mad about this, Alice. I..” Gordo paused, thinking carefully about his next words.

“What is it, David?” Alice pressed, the frustration in her voice shifting to desperation.

“Maybe you have some… unresolved feelings you need to figure out.”

Alice looked baffled by his words.

“Oh, I’m the one with unresolved feelings? Don’t project your crap onto me, Gordo.” Alice’s voice was barely audible as she spoke.

Gordo was now also silent, as Alice moved closer towards him.

“You really think I haven’t noticed the way you talk about her, the way you look at her?” As Alice continued, Gordo refused to make eye contact with her or Lizzie. Lizzie was frozen in place, not sure what to do or say. 

“You can get mad all you want about Shane, but you can’t honestly tell me that this wasn’t way more than that. Everything makes sense now.” Alice’s tone had turned cold. 

She turned to look at Lizzie, who kept her gaze firmly planted on the ground, before continuing.  
“I think we all have some unresolved feelings to work out.”

“Alice,” Gordo started to protest, before Alice stormed out of the Digital Bean.

“I feel terrible, Gordo.” Lizzie spoke softly to Gordo. He shrugged his shoulders.

“I’m not sure how I feel right now.” Gordo muttered under his breath. “I just need to go for a walk and think.”

Lizzie nodded understandingly, as Gordo also walked out of the Digital Bean.

She barely had a moment to breathe before Miranda peaked around the corner.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Martin’s about to count the till and he wants you to be there for it. He seems really happy with how tonight turned out.”

Lizzie forced a smile. “That’s great, I’ll be there in a second.”

Miranda went back around the corner and Lizzie took a deep breath, composing herself. She was hoping there would be at least one positive outcome from tonight.


	11. 11

The event night at Digital Bean was a success. Martin noted the day of the event had one of the highest day-end profits they had seen in years, and received several emails from local bands about coming to the venue to perform. The “After Hours” drink menu was a hit and continued to bring in an older demographic consistently as the week went on.

Lizzie was proud of her efforts paying off. However, she felt she was not fully able to enjoy the success, as her thoughts kept travelling to the Alice and Gordo situation. She tried her best to distract herself by throwing herself into her work with Martin at the Digital Bean. 

Lizzie was not a fan of confrontation, and it was even worse to have been confronted by someone she had considered a good friend over the past month. However, the most difficult part for her was the complicated feelings with Gordo coming back to light. Did she think her feelings had disappeared? No, but to some extent those feelings had been repressed way back in her memory. After all, it had been fifteen years since Italy and the start of high school.

When her mind travelled to the possibility of her and Gordo, Miranda’s words from high school echoed in her mind – “What happens if you two break up?” 

Sure, it wasn’t high school anymore. When they were 14 years old, a lot of growth needed to happen for the both of them before a long-lasting relationship could ever be in consideration. But what about now? Would they still be doomed for failure? Miranda had since retracted her words and seemed to be in support of them together now. It was only Lizzie who had doubts now, and she could not hide behind the notion of Miranda not approving anymore.

It was the first time in about ten days that Lizzie was not going into the Digital Bean to work. Martin had pretty much begged her to take a rest day. She wondered if that was also his guilty conscience because he could not pay her for all the extra hours she had been putting in.

Lizzie rolled out of bed and shuffled downstairs to the kitchen to make her morning coffee. She was surprised to see Matt sitting at the kitchen table, stirring his coffee absent-mindedly with a blank expression, as he stared out the window. 

“What’s up with you?” Lizzie asked, frowning at Matt with concern as she poured fresh-brewed coffee into her mug.

“Melina got into the military.” Matt answered flatly, his dazed expression still present.

“Oh,” Lizzie paused, as she shifted her eyes slightly. “That’s…good, right?”

“Good for her, sure.” Matt mumbled, still stirring his coffee absent-mindedly.

Lizzie grasped his arm suddenly to stop him from stirring. Matt looked taken aback as he was shook out of his daze.

“You’ve stirred that at least a hundred times since I’ve been in the kitchen. I think it’s ready now.”

Matt sighed, removing the spoon from the cup. Lizzie knew it was serious when Matt was in sad, lost-boy mode.

“I just don’t know what’s going to happen to us when she’s gone.”

Lizzie raised her eyebrows. “Wow, I didn’t know you two were officially together. Must have happened when I was away?”

“Well… we’ve had this unspoken thing, for as long as I can remember. She’s the only one for me. No other girls can challenge me and out-badass me like she can. I don’t want anyone else… If I couldn’t date her, I’d probably just be dating Lanny.” 

“Right… so why don’t you make it a spoken thing? Girls aren’t mind readers, believe it or not. I’m sure she wants to hear you say those words, Matt. Fight for her!” 

Matt shook his head. “You watch too many rom coms, Lizzie. This has been her dream job since kindergarten. She’s not going to put her dreams on hold for me.”

“You’re right. And she shouldn’t put her dreams on hold for you, or for anyone for that matter. But maybe if you speak up, she might put her heart on hold for you.”

“I hate speaking these words… but you’re right. I need to go over there and show her why I’m the only one for her.”

Matt stood up and headed towards the door. Lizzie looked back at him in disbelief.

“You’re doing that right now?”

“Well, I was actually going to get a burger… but I’ll pick up some fries for her, then I’ll go tell her.” Matt answered, matter-of-factly.

Lizzie raised her eyebrows. “Wow. You make it seem so easy.”

Matt shrugged his shoulders. “Guess I was the only one holding myself back. See ya.”

“Good luck.” Lizzie called out as he shut the door behind him.

Matt’s words stuck with her – having an unspoken thing for someone as long as they could remember definitely hit home for Lizzie.

Gordo was the only one who showed up for her, no matter what. Such as the event night at Digital Bean, when Lizzie had crossed a line and he had every right now to show up, but he still did anyways. Or in Rome, when Lizzie abandoned him on their trip to spend time with Paolo, and he swooped in to save the day – multiple times.

Why did she spend so many years fighting it? Her and Gordo were not just friends. Listening to Matt talk about Melina made Lizzie realize that it was time for her to show up for him. Gordo was her person. As scary as it was to face her feelings head-on, she knew it was the right time. 

There was just something she needed to do first.

She pulled out her phone and searched up Alice’s contact. She opened a new message and typed: Hey Alice. I know you probably don’t want to talk to me right now, but I just want to talk some things out. If you’re open to it, there’s a strawberry daiquiri with your name on it tonight at 8:00 at the DB.

Lizzie took a deep breath as she pressed send. A few minutes later, she received a message back from Alice saying: OK. I’ll be there.

Later that night, Lizzie was waiting at a table for 2 with their drinks, tapping her foot nervously. At 8:05, Alice walked in and nodded in Lizzie’s direction curtly, sitting down at the table.

“I hope it’s a double shot of rum in here.” Alice commented as she eyed the drink, causing Lizzie to turn her gaze towards the bar.

“Its not, but I can make it happ-“

Alice waved her hand with a brief chuckle. “I was kidding, but thanks.” She took a sip and Lizzie smiled at her awkwardly. Was this supposed to feel this weird?

“So, I asked you to meet me here tonight for a couple of reasons. First things first, to apologize to you, one on one. It was wrong for me to meddle with you and Gordo, no matter what my suspicions were.” Lizzie took a deep breath, not knowing what reaction to expect from Alice. She was just hoping it wouldn’t be a slap in the face.

“It’s fine, Lizzie. Really. Although it’s a little fuzzy… I’m pretty sure you apologized the other night too, and I was just too much of an emotional wreck to process it.”

“I totally get it… I also wanted to know…um.” Lizzie paused, as she tried to figure out the right way to say her next few words. “Where do you stand with Gordo?”

Alice looked down at her lap, fidgeting with her hands. “That depends… do you want to know so you can go report back to David, or do you want to know so you can go for him now?”

Lizzie was caught off guard by Alice’s question, and found herself stumbling over her words for a moment. “I- uh…well… not the reporting back to him, no.” 

“C’mon Lizzie. Why can’t you just admit you want to pursue him? It’s this wishy-washy stuff that angers me more than anything.” Alice pressed, her tone frustrated.

“It’s just…weird to me to think of it as pursuing Gordo, that’s all.”

Alice nodded slowly. “I think that’s because some things are just… inevitable, you know? I think that’s why I was having an issue of you and Shane. Him and I also had feelings that needed to be addressed. When Shane was out of sight and out of mind, I thought David and I could have gone the distance. But as soon as he walked through those doors and I saw him smile…” Alice trailed off, shaking her head. 

“The feelings came rushing back.” Lizzie finished Alice’s sentence, eyeing her carefully as Alice took a deep breath.

“To answer your original question… as great as David is, I couldn’t go back to him knowing my feelings for Shane, and his feelings for you. It would just be wrong.”

“Makes sense.” Lizzie responded quietly.

“I mean, I can’t see us all hanging out, skipping through fields of flowers and butterflies anytime soon. I guess I’ll have to see him at work sometimes, it’s a small industry… we’ll be civil,” Alice added sarcastically, causing Lizzie to wince with an uncomfortable chuckle. Sometimes when Alice spoke it reminded her of speaking to Gordo. “Just know you don’t have to worry about me.” Alice smiled at Lizzie earnestly, as she took the last sip of her drink. 

“Thanks Alice. I know this couldn’t have been easy for you.”

“Well, Shane actually asked me if we could meet up and talk so… maybe it all happened for a reason.” 

“Maybe it did.” Lizzie replied with a small smile, as Alice got up to leave.

“Goodbye Lizzie, and good luck.”


	12. 12

Friday night rolled around and Lizzie was back at Digital Bean for another live music night. She was happy that the place was quite busy again – an excited buzz of conversations echoed through the venue, with most tables already filled. 

Lizzie was still a bit nervous, not about how busy it would be- but if it would be awkward interacting with Shane again after last week’s drama. She couldn’t help but wonder if Shane and Alice ended up reconciling their romance. Not out of a place of jealousy, but out of curiosity. She already had Alice’s “blessing” to admit to Gordo how she felt, but if she knew it had also worked out between Alice and Shane – Lizzie would definitely feel less guilty about it.

She was keeping herself preoccupied by the task of taking inventory at the counter, as she heard a familiar voice in earshot.

“Need any help?”

Miranda approached her at the counter with a knowing look in her eyes.

“Yes, but not with the Digital Bean.” She answered Miranda, with a disappointed sigh as she continued counting the bottles.

“I think I might just have what you’re looking for.”

Lizzie looked up from her notepad with a confused expression, until Miranda moved aside to reveal Gordo standing in front of her, sending her an awkward wave.

“I’m gonna see if Martin needs any more help.” Miranda winked subtly at Lizzie before disappearing around the corner, leaving Lizzie and Gordo looking at each other in silence.

“I was wondering when…or if…you were going to come back.” Lizzie broke the silence, and Gordo dropped his gaze to his feet.

“Yeah…my thoughts were all over the place for a few days. I just needed some time to make sense of it all in my head.” Gordo answered, and Lizzie could sense a hint of guilt in his tone.

“And did you? Make sense of it all?” The words escaped Lizzie uncertainly, as if she was forbidden to ask.

“Well, Alice and I finally talked. We both came to terms that it wasn’t meant to be a forever thing for us, and I think we’re both okay with that.” 

Lizzie nodded slowly. “I ended up speaking with her too. I hope you’re not mad… I just felt weird leaving things on that note, you know?”

A small smile played on Gordo’s lips. “She told me. You’re a good person, Lizzie McGuire.”

Lizzie was caught off guard by Gordo’s words. “Am I?”

“The old Lizzie would have avoided confrontation at all costs. You could have gone the rest of your life without seeing her again, but you went out of your way to make sure you apologized for any harm you may have caused her.”

Lizzie felt her cheeks redden at his compliment. “I guess these past few years have taught me it’s best to never leave a stone unturned.”

“So…are there any more proverbial stones left unturned?” Gordo asked, in a slightly nervous manner.

“I, uh,” Lizzie stuttered, before hearing her name called from the stage of the Digital Bean. As she turned around, she realized it was Luke and the rest of the band waving her over. “We’ll talk later, okay?” Lizzie said quickly before walking towards the stage, and Gordo nodded in response, almost dejectedly.

“Hey Lizzie, did you want to kick the night off with a speech again?” 

Lizzie’s mind was miles away as she looked back towards where Gordo was sitting, noticing Martin had poured him a beer.

She felt Luke’s hand lightly tap her shoulder, as if to bring her back to earth.

“Um, not a speech actually. A song.” She piped up, causing a look of pleasant surprise on the band member’s faces. “How would you feel about diverting from your 90’s theme just once?”

She whispered her idea to the boys and they nodded along in agreement.

A few minutes later, Lizzie tapped the microphone to get the attention of the audience.

“Good evening everyone! Thanks so much for coming to the Digital Bean. It truly means the world to us that you’re all here.” Lizzie took a deep breath before continuing. “I wanted to start the night off with some help from my new friends. Give it up for “As if!”” Lizzie motioned her hand to present the band members and the audience enthusiastically cheered.

“The thing I’ve always loved about music is that sometimes… songs find a way of expressing all the things we can’t… or don’t know how to say.” 

Lizzie turned towards Shane, who started playing the chords of the Paramore song she requested they play.

Can't count the years on one hand that we've been together  
I need the other one to hold you  
Make you feel, make you feel better  
It's not a walk in the park to love each other  
But when our fingers interlock, can't deny, can't deny, you're the worth it

'Cause after all this time  
I'm still into you  
I should be over all the butterflies but I'm into you, I'm into you  
And even baby our worst nights  
I'm into you, I'm into you

As Lizzie sang the chorus, she built the courage to lock eyes with Gordo, and walk towards where he was sitting as she sang. Gordo was frozen in place, unable to take his eyes off of Lizzie. She sang the rest of the song right in front of him. The smile that spread across his face reminded Lizzie of the time he first saw her perform “What Dreams are Made Of” in Rome.

Let 'em wonder how we got this far,  
'Cause I don't really need to wonder at all  
Yeah, after all this time  
I'm still into you

By the end of the song, her hand was interlaced with his, and it felt as if they were the only two in the room. The crowd erupted into cheers, causing Lizzie and Gordo to pull away from each other bashfully, as Lizzie made her way to the stage to give Luke the mic to begin his set.

“Thank you.” Lizzie mouthed to the band, as they gave her a thumbs up in response. When she looked back at the bar, she was surprised to see that Gordo was not there anymore.

“That was amazing, Lizzie!” Miranda exclaimed as she ran up to Lizzie and pulled her into a hug. Lizzie smiled warmly as she hugged her friend back. “Thanks Miranda – did you see where Gordo went?” She asked, looking around through the sea of people.

“I think he had to take a phone call and went somewhere quiet.” Miranda shrugged.

Lizzie bit her lip nervously. What if it was Alice, changing her mind? She shook off the thought – she couldn’t let her brain go there. After all, she just publicly admitted her feelings for Gordo. There was no turning back now.

“Lizzie, do you have a minute?” Lizzie spun around to see Martin and she nodded, as she followed him into the Digital Bean office space.

“I just wanted to thank you again. You really put your heart and soul into this place. It’s crazy how close I was to giving up on it before you came along. I’ve been number crunching lately and it looks like we’ve made it happen.” 

Lizzie’s eyes widened as she waited for Martin to continue. 

“Because of all your creativity and hard work, I don’t need to sell my soul to become a Starbucks franchisee, based on my most recent projections.”

Lizzie practically jumped up in her seat. “Ohmigod, that’s amazing!” She squealed, clapping her hands together.

“I’ve been thinking…I think you’re the key to keeping Digital Bean innovative and most importantly, profitable. That’s why I wanted to ask you if you would like to become Assistant General Manager and Part-Owner of the Digital Bean.”

Lizzie’s jaw dropped. Martin looked at her uncertainly as he tried to gage her reaction.

“Yes, absolutely yes!” Lizzie felt like hugging him, but he extended his hand towards her instead and she shook it as coolly as she could manage, amidst her excitement.

“We’ll talk details later.” Martin smiled authentically. “I’ve got to tell this Starbucks guy to take a hike.”

Lizzie nodded excitedly as she left the office with a skip in her step. When she made her way back to the bar, Gordo had returned, with another full drink in his hand.

“Gordo, you’ll never believe what just happened,” Lizzie was speaking a mile a minute, as she could not hold in her excitement. “Martin asked me to be Assistant General Manager and Part-Owner of Digital Bean!”

Gordo raised his eyebrows in surprise as he took a long sip of his drink. “Wow, what did you say?” 

“I said yes, obviously. I mean, I haven’t gotten the paperwork yet or anything, but I know this is what I want. To be in a job that makes me feel like I matter, in the place I call home with the people who make it home.” 

Gordo’s expression was not as happy as Lizzie had expected it to be.

“Is everything okay?” Lizzie asked with a concerned tone, placing her hand softly on his arm.

“Work just called. They asked me if I want to direct my first major motion picture.”

Lizzie’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Ohmigod, Gordo! That’s been your dream since you were like.. three.” 

Were the stars finally aligning? Lizzie wondered. There would be nothing better than to finally be together while pursuing their dream jobs.

Gordo took a deep breath before finishing his sentence quietly. “It’s in Montreal, Canada.”


	13. 13

Lizzie’s last conversation with Gordo had been on repeat in her mind over the past 24 hours. The conversation was left off abruptly when Martin asked Lizzie for some help with closing duties. They hadn’t had a chance to speak again since he told her that his new movie would be filming in Canada.

Why was it that whenever everything seemed to be finally falling into place, something out of the blue would come out of nowhere and rain on her parade? She was almost thirty. She had always imagined her life at 30 would include living in her own house with a stable job, husband and maybe even kids at that point.

The perfect job and perfect partner were within her grasp- but she felt like she had to choose between the two of them.

Lizzie had rolled out of bed the next day around 11 AM, deciding it was a ‘stay in pyjamas’ type of day. Since graduating college, those days had been few and far between. When Lizzie finally shuffled down the stairs and into the kitchen, her mother shot her a concerned look.

“Good Morning Honey,” Jo greeted softly, as Lizzie walked past the kitchen table to open the fridge. 

Sam mumbled under his breath, “It’s pretty much afternoon..” causing Jo to grab the newspaper he was holding and whack him in the arm.

“Morning,” Lizzie mumbled in response, pouring herself some orange juice without making eye contact.

Moments later, Matt gleefully walked into the kitchen, practically with a skip in his step. “Hidely ho, family.” 

Lizzie raised her eyebrows at her brother’s enthusiastic greeting, scoffing lightly. 

“What did you put in your coffee this morning, and where can I get some?”

“Just high on life. Or should I say love.” Matt smiled sheepishly and Lizzie scrunched her nose in mock-disgust.

“I take it things worked out with Melina?”

“The whole talking to her about my feelings thing really worked. She said there was no way some military dude was going to sweep her off her feet, and we’re both gonna put in the effort to make it work. I’ll get to go visit her every few weeks, and she will come visit home sometimes too.”

Lizzie smiled authentically at her brother’s words. “Well, I’m glad it worked out for one of us. I just sang out my emotions in public for pete’s sake, and I don’t know if I’m going to get that happy ending.”

Matt frowned slightly, and Lizzie continued. “Gordo just got offered his first directing gig for a major motion picture, but it’s set to film in Montreal.”

“Oh, sweetie.” Jo interjected, pulling Lizzie into a comforting hug. 

“Not only that, but Martin offered me to join permanently at Digital Bean yesterday, which I think would be amazing… I feel like the world keeps trying to tell me that Gordo and I aren’t meant to be.” She buried her face in her Mom’s shoulder as Jo looked at Sam sympathetically. Jo “shoo”-ed her hand at Sam and Matt to leave, so she would be able to have some girl talk with Lizzie.

Once they took the hint and left the kitchen, Jo looked at her daughter and held her hands with conviction. 

“I see so much of myself in you, Lizzie. Growing up, I thought that all love stories were like Cinderella… or as I got a bit older, Grease.” 

Lizzie chuckled at her mother’s words, before Jo continued. 

“It took me a while to realize that fairy tales aren’t real. Relationships take a lot of work, and even when you’re both putting in 110 percent – there’s no guarantee that everything’s always going to go as planned. I was lucky enough to find my… Prince Charming...” she paused, glancing over at Sam, who was carefully inspecting one of his lawn gnomes in the backyard, “and even though we found each other at a young age- there were a lot of arguments, and sacrifices.”

Lizzie’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“Well, Sam doesn’t talk about it very often, ‘cause I think it’s still a bit of a touchy subject… but he made it to the soapbox racing state championships. He was doing really well, and had to go to different states for weeks at a time to compete. You know, believe it or not, soapbox racing was cool back then and they even had “groupies”. But I never doubted his loyalty for one moment.” 

Lizzie raised her eyebrows in disbelief. She recalled her Dad’s soapbox racer car that was stashed away in the garage, but couldn’t imagine anyone competing in an actual soapbox racing tournament. 

“So what ended up happening?”

“On the second day of regionals, I found out that I was expecting our first child.” Jo smiled at Lizzie warmly.

Lizzie held a hand against her heart. “Aww, he gave up on his soapbox racing dreams for us?”

“Well … he said he felt so guilty he wasn’t there with me for the news, that he swear he saw a baby driving the vehicle next to him…and proceeded to crash into the boards.”

Lizzie’s jaw dropped before Jo waved her hand casually. “He wasn’t hurt or anything. He just placed second to last and never competed again out of embarrassment.”

Lizzie wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be a comforting story, but put the thought aside as she interjected. 

“But you and Dad had an established relationship by that point. Gordo and I haven’t even come close to that yet.”

“You’ll never know if you keep finding reasons not to go for it, honey.”

Lizzie sighed. Her Mom had a point. “Thanks Mom. I think I’m gonna go for a walk and think things through.”

“..In your pyjamas?”

“Don’t worry, I’m not in college anymore. I’ll change first.”

Lizzie went upstairs and got changed into a tank top and jeans, before leaving the house to start walking down the street. She put in her headphones and pressed shuffle, as the song “The One that Got Away” by Katy Perry started playing. Really, phone, really?

There was no denying it- she would never find another Gordo. Throughout her twenties, she went on her fair share of dates. Some of those resulted in long term relationships- but there was always something deep down in her heart telling her that it wasn’t 100% right.

If she cited the reason of Gordo following his dreams to another city for a few months as why they couldn’t pursue a relationship – she would never forgive herself. Gordo is different. He wasn’t like Jaxx, looking to find another girl the moment she wasn’t there. She had to let that pain and insecurity go, once and for all. 

As the Katy Perry song so eloquently stated – Gordo couldn’t be the one that got away.

Without even realizing it, walking on auto-pilot had taken her to Gordo’s street. A small smile spread across her face. She knew what she had to do.

Minutes later, she knocked on Gordo’s terrace door, taking a deep breath. Gordo appeared on the other side of the glass, smiling nervously as he opened the sliding door for her to come in.

“I hope I’m not intruding, like the last time I showed up here out of the blue.” Lizzie winced slightly at the recollection of meeting Alice for the first time.

“I can assure you that if my TV could talk, it would be telling me I need a break.” 

Lizzie let out an airy laugh at his typical awkward Gordo joke as they took a seat next to each other on the couch, facing each other. 

“Look, I know the past few months that I’ve been back haven’t been the easiest for either of us…”

“Are you kidding me? Having you back home has been amazing, Lizzie. Believe me.” Gordo admitted earnestly, causing Lizzie to blush.

“I do believe you, Gordo… and I believe in us. I want us to finally have a real chance at being together, no matter how hard or unpredictable the journey may be.”

Gordo’s expression brightened at Lizzie’s words, as if he had been dreaming about hearing those words for a lifetime.

“I’ve decided I’m gonna ask if Martin if I can delay starting at the Digital Bean, so I can come with you to Montreal while you work on your first movie.”

Gordo looked at Lizzie in disbelief, staying silent for a moment. 

“Lizzie, I’m flattered that you would offer to do that for me, but there’s no way I could be selfish enough to let you.” He shook his head before continuing. “I see how happy you are working there, and you and I both know they can’t do it without you.” 

Lizzie took a deep breath, glancing down at her lap, and Gordo reached over to hold her hand.

“I love you, Lizzie McGuire. No amount of time apart is going to change that. I promise to follow my dream, if you follow yours – because I know, I just know…we’re gonna make it in the long run.”

Lizzie’s eyes welled up and she reached over, kissing Gordo passionately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end, folks! Thanks so much for everyone who has been following along with this fanfic. It means the world to me. It was hard for me to find the right ending spot, but for now this one felt right. In the future, I definitely may do a continuation, who knows ;)
> 
> Appreciate all your comments, reviews and support so much <3


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